And So, Bell Became a Hero Chapter 5: And so, a Familia was Formed, a dungeon ni deai o motomeru no wa machigatte iru darou ka fanfic

And So, Bell Cranel Became a Hero

DISCLAIMER: Danmachi belongs to its respective owners. Everything that occurs in this fanmade story is of my own creation and the characters abide by the fictional laws in the setting.

Tags: Mature, Action, Romance[Harem]. Adventure.

Authors Note: Heya! Jas here, if you'd like to support me, please consider joining the dis cord server (42SQENPj54) or supporting my patrn (IreJasmine)

Interlude

Author: Thanks for the incredibly warm welcome to the Danmachi fandom, this interlude is to reply to some of the reviews and give a little insight as to the choice/route I'm going for with this story, nothing that spoils the story of course. On that note, I would also like to let you know that there's already about 60k more words written for this story which is the reason I can release various chapters at once but I'll do so slowly so I have room to continue writing and retcon without creating plot holes in the released version.

First, English is not my native language so there are Idioms I don't know very well, an example was OmniscientReader review which points out my use of 'Twenty times more'. Due to the difference in language I consider 'Twenty Times' as 20 multiplied by x, whereas 'Twenty Times More' as 20 PLUS x, this could've been avoided if I wrote "Twenty times higher" but it's a bit late to change that, lol.

I'm glad most of the reviews really liked how the story started and I hope you like where the story goes from here on, I noticed various names being thrown into the Harem pool for the white-haired pup and I'm happy to tell you that about 70% of those names ARE in the harem with more that you all didn't add, yay.

Third, I will be basing some of the God backstories with their actual mythologies/poems and using some that are not yet shown in the manga/novel very far in the future with the sole exception of this chapter where the main goddess that changes everything forward stakes her claim. Note: I carefully investigated for about four to five days about the various deities that could fit my "Bell Cranel" and while I have a sweet spot for the one I ended up choosing, she's the best fit and was foreshadowed since chapter 1.

Fourth, further down the line I will be taking some characters from other games/mangas to fill the cast but nothing that will make the story overcharged or insert those game/manga worlds/plots/etc into the story. This is Danmachi/Mythology focused and nothing will change the system that its working under.

Lastly, and possibly the most spoiler'ish point, I'm aware that some will not like the Familia I've chosen due to the Goddess being rather jealous and troublesome but fear not, for the goddess that changes everything derails that aspect of the other Goddess, which honestly, I found rather annoying in the manga/novel.

Chapter 5: And so, a Familia was formed.

Part 9

As the sun rose and grazed Orario with its first rays of light, a certain goddess walked the worn-down path that led to a ruined church. Her straight long crimson hair fell to the small of her back, eyes of equally crimson color. Dressed in an off-shoulder black blouse that showed a handful of her cleavage and everything below her bellybutton with a half-thigh length tricolor checkered skirt.

Around her neck was a black checker from which a golden chain dangled, and the end was lost between her generous bust, both of her earlobes were pierced with golden key-shaped pendants, sitting snuggly at the top of her head was a black band.

The goddess kicked the doors of the run-down church, her steps carried her through the rubble of the ruined hall all the way to a hidden entrance which burst open with an angry goddess of black hair done in twin tails, an outfit that left little to the imagination and was strained to the max over her equally generous chest.

"Who's kicking my home down!?" The angry goddess yelled at the only other being in the ruined room.

"It's nice to see you too Hestia" The red-haired goddess smiled as she placed one hand on her hip.

"Who i-" Hestia started only to panic as she realized who was standing there "Wait, why are YOU here!?"

"I heard from our dear friend Hephaestus about your less than stellar living conditions and thought I would give you a little hand..."

Hestia pouted angrily "She said she wouldn't tell anyone... "

The red-haired goddess laughed "I was very persuasive, either way I have a proposition for you, one that will benefit the both of us..."

"Uhuh... and that is?"

"There's someone special I want you to meet and if possible, someone I want to keep a close eye on..."

"I'm not sure I'm the best for that..."

"Oh, but you are! He's going to be our first Child!"

Hestia sputtered, going red faced "Wha-what do you mean!"

The red-haired goddess laughed again "Sorry, sorry, I meant it as in the first member of our Familia"

Hestia blinked several times "Oh, okay. Where is this special someone then? Did you bring him with you or?"

"No, no, we'll go to him" The red-haired goddess turned and started towards the exit "Come, we must get to him before he's snatched!"

Hestia sighed but followed the carefree goddess. There were only three beings in existence that she fully trusted and the woman walking beside her was one of those, they shared many aspects and often were worshipped together with one more, so, Hestia knew her trust would never be misplaced in the Goddess beside her.

"Soooo what makes him special?" Hestia asked as she caught up to Goddess who was twice her height.

"He obtained an empty grimoire"

Hestia eyes bugged out as she stumbled.

A grimoire contains knowledge written from ancient times by men blessed by the Gods and the magic within them could grant almost any wish for the reader. They were especially useful to adventurers whom, through the blessings of the descended Gods, could partially awaken the power within those books.

There were many types of Grimoires.

The simple ones that granted adventurers basic spells or skills.

The advanced ones that granted advanced spells, skills or special abilities.

The conceptual ones that were self-aware and granted magic close to what the Gods could manipulate in the form of skills and abilities.

And lastly, the empty grimoires. A book devoid of anything yet containing everything at once. It is a Grimoire that chooses a God most suited to the reader and grants them power of similar magnitude to the one wielded by the chosen God.

The price for any simple grimoire was around the 250k valis and advanced ones went from anywhere between 500k to 1M. The price only went higher for conceptual and even more so for empty ones.

Whoever that person was must be loaded to obtain one!

"He also awakened the grimoire, and wouldn't you guess which God it chose" the red-haired goddess grinned.

Hestia stumbled, again.

Of all the Greek Gods there was only one that her dearest brother held above all, for she was the only one capable of bending boundaries to her whim and was one of the pillars that supported their rebellion against the Titans.

"Why would you want me to meet him then...?" Hestia mumbled as the goddesses paused outside a certain apartment.

The red-haired goddess knocked on the door "Because you and Artemis, my dear, are the only ones I trust when family is involved."

"Such a heavy burden..." Hestia pouted once more.

The door opened, revealing Rose Fannett dressed in light khaki pants and a white dress shirt with a mug of coffee in hand.

"Good morning, what may I help you with?" The werewolf voice was cold and professional.

"Hey! We match!" The red-haired goddess grinned, pointing at her own hair "Sadly, you're not the one, is there anyone else in your residence?"

Rose raised an eyebrow, her free hand crossed under chest and pushed up "Why should I answer that question?"

Hestia butted in "We are looking for someone that has a book with uh..."

"Phases of the moon OR dogs, torches and lots of chains. It's very important"

Rose blinked once, she remembered seeing a book with a similar cover in Bell's bag this morning when she had unpacked his spare clothes to wash them.

"Does this book belong to you or something?" Rose asked, digging for information and trying to keep any unsavory situation away from her partner.

"You could say that" The red-haired goddess replied with a light wave of the hand "If the person's here, would you mind letting us speak with him?"

Rose was about to deny when she was cut off by the red-haired goddess.

"By the way, it's great to see one of my pups is safe. I didn't think the Guild would act so fast to recover one of their own"

Rose looked surprised at the red-haired goddess because she finally understood why the Guild was in such a frenzy when she was returned by the Loki Familia.

"So, you were the one to tell them of my plight..." Rose nodded gratefully at her "The person you're looking for is in here but he's sleeping now, if you co-

"Ooh that's great, all the better! Here, Goddess Hestia" Said Goddess was pushed into the werewolf arms, stunning both women "will keep you company while I go talk to him!" The red-haired goddess skipped inside the apartment and went up the stairs.

"Goddess?"

"I'm so sorry for her behavior but there's nobody who can control her in Earth, Hell or the Heavens

Rose sighed, closing the door and guiding the apologetic Hestia to the sofa.

"Would you mind answering some questions for me Lady Hestia?"

"Um sure but I don't know how much help I will be"

Upstairs the red-haired goddess went, guided by the unseen string connecting her to her sleeping chosen one. Gently opening the door, the goddess sneaked inside, moving until she was beside the sleeping boy, she moved aside the covers and inspected him from head to toe.

I should've seen this one coming...

Young was her first impression of him, with her godly eyes she could see the muscles he gained from his work at the fields, yet he was slim, not overly toned but not skinny enough to see his bones. He was probably a foot smaller than her too.

His hair was as white as snow, untamed like the wolves of the wild, his skin was rather light for someone who worked in the fields. The palms of his hands were calloused from hours of hard work, very faint scars almost non-existent on both of his forearms and arms however what truly drew her attention was his back.

The skin was devoid of any blemish, yet she could feel traces of another God's blessing.

She could've easily placed her blood on his back and obtained what she seeks, but she was no such God. One of her domains were crossroads and she'd be damned if she let her champion unable to choose which path to take!

Hence, there was no hesitation as she started clapping her hands loudly next to his ear "Up! Up! Up!"

And up Bell shot, bloodshot eyes as crimson as hers locked onto her and he almost pounced had she not placed her hand on his head and pushed him back down.

"Good morning to you too!"

"What-" Bell's eyes widened as he recognized the woman holding him down "Miss Kat what are you doing here!?"

"I could be asking you the same thing Bell, you suddenly left lil'ol me all alone at the village without any notice and here I find you a month later in some woman's house and in her own bed no less!"

Bell sputtered, going as red as the goddess hair color "You got it wrong Miss Kat! Nothing like what you're thinking happened!"

"Uhuh, and with how defensive that woman was of you and how much she reeked of you, you try to lie to me!?"

Bell mouth opened and closed various times "Miss Kat, we really didn't do anything! All we did was take a bath together! Like, like, like the ones you forced us..."

"Ohoho so I was forcing you, so you didn't enjoy our baths together is what you're trying to say?

"That's not what I meant either! Please stop teasing me, Miss Kat!"

"Fine, fine, there's more important things we need to talk about" 'Kat' said as she jumped onto the bed and straddled the young lad lower back.

"Wha-what are you doing!?"

"Bell, how old do you think I am?"

"What does that have to do with this!?"

"Just answer the question"

Bell almost blurted out twenty, but he had memories of the red-haired woman changing his diapers when his gramps wasn't around and that was 15 years ago, yet she looked not a day older since then.

"30?"

"Higher"

"37?"

"Much higher"

Bell struggled and gave up, giving a random number.

"100"

'Kat' grinned "Try 4 billion "

"What? How?"

"I'm a Goddess, Bell"

"Oh, that explains some things I guess..."

"Mhmm" 'Kat' hummed

"Still don't understand why you are here though, miss Kat or is it Lady Kat now?"

"There's one reason I'm here and soon it'll turn into three, possibly four if the werewolf lady accepts which by the way, nice catch Bell"

"You sound like my gramps, Lady Kat"

Kat grinned at that.

"Do you want to guess those reasons, or do you want me to tell you?"

"Will you move away from me if I try to guess?"

"Nope"

Bell sighed "Then please tell me"

"You got your hands on a peculiar book, one with either moon phases as it's cover or one with dogs, torches and lots of chains, right?"

"Ah! Yes, the one with the moon, it's in my bag. I found it at the market when I first arrived in Orario, an old, masked person was selling it for a hundred valis and it looked interesting..."

"That, Bell, was an Empty Grimoire. One that awakened the moment you laid eyes on it and made a connection between you and me, not that I knew it was you by the way, I left the village to find who was capable of making a connection to me, but I guess I shouldn't be surprised it was you"

"Um Lady Kat, two questions, what's an empty grimoire and why aren't you surprised?"

"A book capable of granting powers under my domain to you and since I've been around you for your whole life, even taking care of you from time to time, the grimoire must've chosen me from that already existing connection"

Bell oh'ed but frowned and looked back through the corner of his vision at the red-haired goddess sitting on his back "Lady Kat what kind of Goddess are you?"

Kat gave him an eerie smile "A goddess who straddles conventional boundaries and eludes definition! I am the great, the one and only, Hekate!"

"Sorry who?"

Hekate hit the top of Bell's head, hard.

"Oww! I'm sorry"

Repeatedly.

"Sorry, sorry, it was a joke, forgive me Lady Kat!"

Hekate huffed, pushing all her weight onto Bell's back.

"Anyway! That book and my curiosity were the main reason I came here but now that I know it's you, well... Tell me Bell, would you like to join a no-name new-type of Familia?"

Bell perked up at that, almost throwing off the goddess from his back "Will you be my Goddess?"

"Yes and no, like I said it'll be a new-type. I will be one of the Goddess, there's another one talking to the werewolf downstair and if things go well, we may have a third Goddess with us later down the road"

"I'm not understanding, aren't Familias supposed to be made by a single God and their Children?"

"Yes, but you see Bell, I am different from the other Gods" Hekate bit the tip of her index finger, drawing her godly blood and letting the golden liquid flow freely down her finger which she demonstrated to Bell.

"I did not descend like the other Gods, for I have always been the Goddess who managed the boundaries and traversed all worlds" Hekate's blood reversed back into the wound which healed under his gaze "In other words, I have full control of my Arcanum but only the other mayor Gods know this"

That certainly was a gigantic difference from other Gods who came down from Heavens only for entertainment.

"With that out of the way, will you accept or not? Depending on your choice I may need to cha-"

"I accept miss Kat; you already are like family to me so becoming your Child officially wouldn't change anything for me besides... There was no Familia who accepted me here, might as well go with someone I trust right?"

Hekate grinned, biting her thumb and placed the bleeding digit on Bell's back "I'm giving you a warning Bell, once you're mine, nothing and nobody will take you away from me, understood!?"

"Hai!"

"Also, this will hurt"

"Wha-"

Bell blacked out.

Hekate had pressed her finger drenched in blood to his back as soon as her words left her mouth, her Arcanum flared as she gave her blessing to Bell.

Empty circles were drawn on his left and right shoulder blades and in between them a Three-Faced Totem with torches on each face, a dog with a collar holding a key guarding the totem and chains in the shape of the moon behind the totem.

Then as his stats and skills were written, Hekate flared her Arcanum and was shown Bell's hardships since the moment he left the village in her mind until this morning, and Hekate swore she would rip Zeus a new one the next time she saw him as more and more of her first Child and chosen status appeared.

Bell Cranel
Level: 1
Familia: ?
Goddess: Hekate. ?. ?
Strength: B780
Endurance: D525
Agility: A890
Dexterity: SS1001
Magic: I0

Development Abilities
Insight: Increases user DEX[unlocked] and spatial awareness massively.

Magic
None

Skills
Paragon: Boost user overall growth. Increases LUCK
DETERMINATION: User has access to Skills/Abilities naturally locked by a lack of Falna, UNKNOWNx6.
Unknown: [Active only when DETERMINATION(Unknown) is active] Doubles the user stats.

"Oh, he's dead, he's really, really, really dead the next time I see him. I can understand the second skill, hell I can understand how he obtained the third one but the first one has his name written all over it" Hekate rubbed her forehead "Welp, now it makes sense why the old pervert went as far as finding me and making a contract to keep you hidden and safe at the village"

Patting her Child's back, Hekate jumped off him and descended the apartment stairs. Her heavy steps gained the attention of the two women she had left behind "We all need to talk, preferably next to him so he listens too"

The trio of women went up the stairs and into the werewolf's room where Bell was starting to wake up from his pain-induced nap when he saw all three entering. Rose was the first to reach his side, a hand coming to rest on his back.

The back that contained a Falna now.

Hekate pushed Hestia next to Rose so the short goddess could see Bell's back too.

"Bell this is the goddess of poverty (hey!) and hearth Hestia, Hestia this is Bell Cranel. Grandson of a pervert"

"Super pervert" Bell instinctively corrected.

"Right, super pervert" Hekate grinned, happy that the boy was still the same kid she took care of back at the village "He's also the person who awakened the empty Black Magic Grimoire"

Hestia already knew about the grimoire and simply nodded however Rose didn't, the two goddesses didn't blame the werewolf if she decided to maul the boy then and there.

"Bell?"

"Yes?"

He looked so innocent and carefree like the words of the Goddess were just that, words. Did he not understand the implications of what he had done?

"Do you know what a Grimoire is?"

"Uhm, Miss Kat told me about them a few minutes ago but I still don't understand why it's so important..."

Sighing, Rose realized she had a lot to teach Bell. Determined and her partner he may be, but knowledge of an adventurer he lacked.

"Hestia give Bell your blessing"

"But you already gave him yours why would he need mine?"

"Remember what I told you earlier?"

Hestia nodded, a proposition that benefited both.

"Bell's that benefit" Hekate said and motioned at the empty circle on his right shoulder blade again "He's already accepted by the way"

"Wait, wait, wait what are you two speaking about? An adventurer can't have two blessings!" Rose interrupted the two goddesses.

Hekate smiled, her eyes slightly glowing as she stared at the now terrified werewolf "Says who? If the Gods weren't such selfish pricks with their toys there would be a lot more adventurers with multiple blessings like the Heroes of old. I only intend to bring back that tradition and Bell is going to be the first of many"

Hekate placed her hands on her hips, easing up on her power "Besides this is only possible if the Gods agree to share their Child. I trust Hestia unconditionally and Bell is more than worth it, otherwise the grimoire would've chosen any other God"

Hestia still wasn't sold on the idea but being told of the unconditional trust the red-haired goddess was heavily weighing on her mind.

"Would you like to see what kind of person Bell Cranel is, Hestia?" Hekate asked as Hestia nodded.

Hestia may desperately want her first Child, but she wouldn't take a random anybody.

Yet.

"I swear upon our grandmother that if Hestia grants Bell Cranel her blessing, she will not regret her decision" Hekate's hair glowed for second as her vow took place.

"You did not need to do that but thank you, it's reassuring, excuse me Miss Rose but I need to sit on the child's back to grant his blessing"

Rose had been rendered speechless from the moment the red-haired goddess had smiled at her and simply nodded, moving enough that the goddess of the hearth could climb onto her partners back and start the process of granting him her blessing.

A drop of blood on Bell's back later, his Falna shone crimson and slowly on the empty circle of the right Hestia's goddess symbol appeared. Bell's Stats was instantly updated, and his journey shown once more.

Bell Cranel
Level: 1
Familia: ?
Goddess: Hekate. Hestia. ?
Strength: B780
Endurance: D525
Agility: A890
Dexterity: SS1001
Magic: I0

Development Abilities
Insight: Increases user DEX[unlocked] and spatial awareness massively.

Magic
None

Skills
Paragon of Crossroads [Upgraded]: Boost user overall growth. Increases LUCK. Every successful decision made by the user permanently increases user STATS.
DETERMINATION: User has access to Skills/Abilities naturally locked by a lack of Falna, UNKNOWNx6.
Unknown: [Active only when DETERMINATION(Unknown) is active] Doubles the user stats.

"Such a determined soul..." Hestia muttered before looking at his skills "Just how potent is your blessing!?"

Hekate smiled, thankfully Hestia had made her own conclusion and thought Bell overpowered attributes were her cause, there was no way she would tell Hestia who Bell 'gramps' truly was or what the man had possibly done.

"Saw the skills first, didn't you? Miss werewolf could you kindly provide us a paper to copy Bell stats to?"

Hestia took the offered paper and started copying Bell stats "How long have you been an adventurer, Bell?"

"Around three weeks, Goddess"

Hestia froze, looked at the stats, looked at the grinning Hekate then back at the stats.

"That was all him, I legit gave him my own blessing like an hour ago" Hekate willy-nilly waved her hand.

Rose, curious, glanced at the stats and froze too.

"Also, hide his skills. Any other Gods that see that will wage war to get their paws on him"

Hestia easily agreed and with another drop of blood cast an obscure spell to hide Bell's skills from anyone outside of their Familia. The paper with his complete blessing information was given to Bell.

"Is this normal?" The young man asked curiously since he had nothing to compare his Status with.

"Yes/No/No" Red, Black, Red spoke at the same time.

"Considering you had those skills since who knows when and the journey you've gone through, you really have achieved all that on your own. Now, our blessing has made those skills more potent so expect to rise up quickly" Hekate explained her answer.

The liminal goddess had felt Zeus blessing on Bell and knew about the God training Bell since a young age hence she was not surprised his stats had been boosted so high once he obtained Excella.

Rose noted her partner confusion and realized he did not understand how strong he was compared to the regular adventurers "With stats like these you are on par with adventurers that have explored the dungeon for three years at the very least... This also explains the way you moved in the dungeon when you saved me"

"You're going to be full of surprises, won't ya Bell?" Hestia nursed her forehead, realizing that she may have bitten more than she could safely chew.

"On that note! Bell" Hekate took his attention away from the paper "The third reason is Hestia, just like you she has struggled a lot in Orario since descending and thought you two would get along well" Hekate smiled at both before pointing at the werewolf "As for the fourth reason, it depends on you"

"Me?"

"Yep, you already marked him didn't ya, miss Werewolf"

Rose nodded. The kisses and nibbles of the previous night could be considered her mark on Bell for members of her own race, and she was not surprised that the Goddess knew about it.

"Don't you want to be close to him at all times?"

Another nod.

"Then join the Familia"

Three surprised faces met Hekate's statement

"I, I can't, I work for the Guild and advisors can't join any Familia!"

"Then I will convince Ouranos to make an exception for you, actually I should just make him delete such a stupid rule from the Guild... Anyways! The offer to join our little Familia still stands"

Rose glanced at Bell who was looking at her in anticipation of her answer.

If she accepted, she would not be able to continue being his advisor. Even if the goddess somehow convinced Ouranos to make an exception, there were too many things that could be misinterpreted if she handled Bell's paperwork as a member of the same Familia.

On the other hand, she could be with Bell fre-

"I'll join" Rose replied instantly, yanking off her shirt which made Hestia sputter in surprise as the werewolf naked breast were released and pointed at Bell, and consequently, Hestia on the bed since Rose back was displayed to Hekate.

"And that makes reason number four, Bell." The Goddess smiled "Now this will hurt a little miss werewolf" Hekate bit her index finger again, drawing her precious golden blood and started to apply her blessing to the shameless woman.

Rose Fannett
Race: Werewolf
Level 1
Familia: ?
Goddess: Hekate, ?, ?
Strength: H130
Endurance: G210
Agility: H120
Dexterity: H190
Magic: I0
Abilities – None
Magic – None
Skills
Hound: Boost user growth when near Mate(Bell Cranel)

"Hestia, your turn"

Rose turned around, giving her back to the annoyed hearth goddess who was mumbling about perverted women around her and added her own blessing which also upgraded Rose new skill.

Rose Fannett
Race: Werewolf
Level 1
Familia: ?
Goddess: Hekate, ?, ?
Strength: H130
Endurance: G210
Agility: H120
Dexterity: H190
Magic: I0
Abilities – None
Magic – None
Skills
Bloodhound [Upgraded]: Boost user growth when near Mate(Bell Cranel). Slightly increases user STATS according to Mate STATS during a fight.

"Heh, quite the interesting skill you got there miss werewolf" Hekate teased as she handed Rose her stats paper, the skill she had blessed the werewolf with was a reward for the werewolf newfound devotion to Hekate's champion "Welcome to the family!"

"Thank you, Lady Hekate" Rose tightly clutched the paper to her chest. Her instincts may have chosen Bell as her partner but having a God's grace physically state Bell was her mate filled her with nothing but joy.

While Rose was lost in elation, Hestia had climbed off the bed and Bell sat on the edge facing the three women.

"Miss Kat? What is the name of our Familia?"

"Mmm that's a good question... What do you think Hestia?" Hekate looked up in thought.

"Usually, it's the God's name that the Familia bear but there's two Goddesses in our Familia and naming it after both of us will cause some issues, and with all due respect, naming it after you may garner us some unwanted attention..."

"Eh, what do you mean Lady Hestia? Why would Miss Kat name garner us unwanted attention?" Bell asked.

"It's the same reason I told you earlier Bell, I did not 'descend' like they have. So, me making a Familia will possibly break the fragile ego and power balance some of the other Gods have created in Earth" Hekate explained "Then we'll use your name, Hestia, if that's okay with you?"

Hestia agreed and by the time they were done updating the Children's back, they had moved the discussion to the living room. Bell was wearing his cleaned equipment sans the coat and Rose had put her shirt back on, a coffee mug for each member of the Familia sat on their spot at the coffee table.

"Now that we're finally done with that we need to think of other important things, number one! Residence!" Hekate clapped as she put a paper on the center of the coffee table for all members to see "I have no residence since I arrived at Orario yesterday morning!"

Bell awkwardly scratched his head "I used to stay at the Laid-Back Fish inn but I... um... lived in the dungeon for the past two weeks..."

If looks could kill, Rose would've murdered Bell three times over already.

"Hephaestus gifted me the rundown church on the western district. It's... in a really bad shape and only the basement is somewhat livable but it's too small for more than three people" Hestia ashamedly added.

"I already had planned on having Bell stay with me" Rose sipped some of her coffee to calm down after being reminded of her mate stupidity "We could use the guest bedroom upstairs, but I will have to pay a higher rent from exceeding the limit of people allowed to live here"

"How much is the increase?" Hekate asked.

"Two people raises it to 30K monthly, four would be 50K"

Hestia winced, her job at the food stall barely paid 25k monthly and 20k of that went to pay her debt with Hephaestus from the days she lived carelessly rent-free in her home "I'm sorry, I can only give 5k towards the rent"

"Will you be able to pay for the rent alone if all four of us live here, Miss werewolf?" Hekate asked worriedly.

"As a senior Guild member my salary is 60K monthly, with four people I would be paying 20k for utilities and food plus the 50K for rent. I could afford paying for the four of us for two months before things become tight and I have to use my life-savings" Rose replied.

"That's an option, Hestia would you happen to know how much it takes to repair the church?"

"Hephaestus said it was around 2M..."

All four winced.

"Then what if Miss Kat and Lady Hestia live here with Rose and I live in the church?" Bell proposed.

All three women stared at him, two with glares and one in contemplation.

"How much would that be then Rose?" Hestia, being the contemplating one, asked.

Rose sighed and did the math "40k Three people and if we add Hestia-sama 5k towards the rent, we could live like that for six months roughly without issues except for Bell not being with us, when he should be" Rose made the final point very clear by glaring at her partner.

"It's not like I want to be away from my Familia, but I don't want to burden you economically! I know what not having valis does to your state of mind!" Bell sheepishly tried to calm Rose down.

Hekate nodded "It's not the best option but it's one of them, how much does a level 1 adventurer make in a month at the Guild miss Werewolf?"

"Anywhere between 3k daily and 90k monthly without considering food and equipment maintenance, 20k monthly if we add those"

"Bell, do you think you can make that much alone?" Hekate asked.

Bell frowned, thinking "I haven't exchanged the crystals from my days living in the dungeon so I don't know if I am meeting the minimum daily but if it's for my Familia, I will do it!"

All three women couldn't help but smile at his determination. A knock interrupted the conversation as a look of realization crossed Rose's face and she quickly went to open the door to find her co-worker (and best friend, not that the half-elf knew) standing with a box between her feet.

"Good afternoon, Rose, may I come in?" The half-elf dressed in her formal Guild clothes asked.

"Yes, ah leave the box there" Rose stopped the half-elf from picking up the box, confusing the brunette "Bell can you help me with something?" Rose called in to the house, seconds after Bell popped into the doorway confusing further the half-elf.

"Hai?"

"Bring the box to the table please" Rose asked as she guided the confused half-elf to the living room and sat her beside the loli Goddess. A second later Bell plopped the box next to the table and sat in between Hekate and Rose, the later whom coiled her tail around his waist.

"Goddesses, this is Eina Tulle my co-worker and friend, Eina this is the Goddess Hekate and the Goddess Hestia, and as you already know, this is Bell Cranel"

"Nice to meet you all" Eina shelved her questions for later, silently thanking the senior member for getting the ball rolling "As Miss Fannett said, I am Eina Tulle, and I am the representative selected by the Guild to deliver Bell Cranel compensation for saving a member of the Guild"

"Ah the God did say something like that..." Bell murmured

"Yes, yesterday we received a report from a citizen (Hekate snickered) that two adventurers had abducted a member of the Guild, the member was safely returned by the Loki Familia and after the involved parties testimony realized there was another person involved in the rescue, that being you Bell Cranel" Eina explained the situation to the two goddesses not knowing that the two already knew from watching the memories via the boy's Falna.

"As such, the Guild issued a reward of 100k valis to your Familia for being a core participant in the rescue along with free sessions with an Advisor of your Familia choice for a year and five adventurer packs for members of your Familia"

'That's... That's a lot!' Bell thought 'Rose really must've been an important member to the guild!"

"Miss half-elf what does the adventurer pack contain?" Hekate, ever the inquisitive one, asked.

"A pouch for monsters drops, three healing potions, one magic potion, a beginner's weapon of the adventurer choice and a map of the first three dungeon floors"

Hekate nodded satisfied.

"All the Guild need is a signature of your God in this form to complete the process" Eina handed the white-haired boy the form, who was about to give it to Hekate before recalling their earlier conversation and giving it to Hestia instead.

Hestia took the form, read it over and signed at the bottom. She hid her emotions well but the Goddess beside her could tell she was giddy for completing her first task as a Familia Goddess and as usual, happy to receive money.

Eina took back the paper and signed it herself, she would've loved to stay to chit-chat with her friend but seeing as two goddess and the boy in question were present, decided against it. She made to stand up when Hekate had an idea.

"Miss half-elf, you said you're acting as the representative of the Guild, right?"

"Yes?"

Hekate nodded at Rose, the werewolf getting the idea nodded back.

"Eina, Bell's paperwork as an adventurer is incomplete. He also joined the newly created Hestia Familia today and..." Rose hesitated for a second but feeling the red-haired goddess palm on her back continued "I also need to update my paperwork"

Eina tilted her head "Sure but I need the forms and they're back at the Guild, besides why would you need to update your own paperwork?"

"Because she joined the Hestia Familia too, miss Half-elf" Hekate replied for the silent werewolf, standing up and stopping any rebuke the half-elf was about to give them "I will accompany you back to the Guild to speak with your superiors directly as the second acting Goddess in the Hestia Familia"

Eina's brain spun in circles as the red-haired goddess dropped bomb after bomb, first an advisor joins a Familia which was against the guild laws and then a goddess joins a Familia?

"Uh... Okay" Eina said after a minute of trying, and failing, to gather her thoughts. She could already feel a migraine forming from all the paperwork she would need to fill for the guild 'Why couldn't my life be easier!?'

"There's no time like the present so let's go Miss Half-elf!" Hekate joyfully said as she dragged the resigned half-elf out the apartment and back to the guild.

"Is... she always like that?" Rose asked as the door clicked shut.

"Yes/Yes" Both Bell and Hestia replied at the same time, they looked at one another and started laughing.

And so, Bell Cranel had found his Familia... Or more like the Familia found him.

- Chapter End -

Author: Don't worry, I'm not going to have a jealous Hestia running around ruining Bell's chances with every girl like in the anime, which was really annoying but I understand since the author needed a powerful deterrent to allow Bell's Liaris Freese to stay "faithful", lol. And speaking about that, as you may have noticed, I'm not giving him Liaris Freeze or Argonaut for that matter, he's going to have a different ability/skill set because of the following (it was already explained in the story and description, so no spoilers here don't worry):

Zeus had given Bell a blessing when he was young, not like the Familia ones but the real "blessings" like in the mythologies. He also trained Bell somewhat and taught him his lecherous ways.

Bell is not rescued by Ais the same way the anime/ln does so no Liaris Freese. He also does not have a 'Pure' soul, it's a 'Determined' soul (foreshadowing here), hence the skill is not based around his feelings but a different criterion.

Gods like Hekate that retain their Arcanum can bestow real "blessings" like she did for Rose, after all dogs and Hekate go hand in hand in the mythology. As for the Skill Upgrade, it's the same reason. Unsealed Arcanum is more potent, and Bell has received 3 blessings and Rose 2 blessings which upgraded their main skill.

And yes, Bell DETERMINATION skill has 7 effects that will slowly be revealed as the story continues.

Hestia Familia Children Information

Bell Cranel
Level: 1
Familia: Hestia Familia
Goddess: Hekate, Hestia, ?
Strength: B780
Endurance: D525
Agility: A890
Dexterity: SS1001
Magic: I0

Development Abilities
Insight: Increases user DEX[unlocked] and spatial awareness massively.

Magic
None