My Misadventures as a Hotel Owner

Chapter 7: Locked On

Naruto woke up from his sleep and made to move but found himself unable to do so, giving him a clear idea as to why when he looked down to see Hestia snuggled up to him rather tightly.

The blonde reincarnated ninja sighed "Is she ever going to use that bed of hers?"

"At the rate she's going, your bedroom will become her bedroom," Kurama commented.

"With you as her teddy bear to cuddle at night," said Sora teasingly.

"I didn't ask for opinion from the peanut gallery," thought Naruto with a deadpanned expression, then he gently nudged Hestia "Time to wake up, Hestia-chan. It's morning now,"

"…mmmm," Hestia slowly opened her eyes a bit then closed them "Lemme sleep a little more…,"

"Then I won't be able to cook breakfast for you,"

"…okay," the twin tailed goddess released her hold on her human with great reluctance.

Naruto got up and went to take his bath before changing into some clothes, he headed over to the ground and began cooking. After some time, he was done and returned to the bedroom to find Hestia excitedly waiting for him.

"Here's the breakfast for the day; hot oatmeal with scrambled eggs, croissants, sweet crepes and coffee to put a pep in your step!" Naruto announced with a prideful tone.

"I can't wait to try them all!" said Hestia.

Sora appeared in her human form "Mind if I join?"

"Can you actually eat?"

"Yeah, I can. This body automatically converts whatever I consume into magical energy, so I get to enjoy the taste while I'm at it," the sentient grimoire explained.

Naruto shrugged his shoulders "Then you can go ahead, there's enough for everyone,"

"Great!"

The trio enjoyed the breakfast made then Hestia began sorting through her clothes in the chest much to Naruto's confusion and decided to inquire from her about it.

"Do you have something planned?" asked Naruto curiously.

"Actually yeah, there's an upcoming party for the gods which I'm going to attend and I'll be gone for three days for something I have in mind, starting this morning," Hestia replied.

"Can I ask what it is?"

"No you can't, don't want to spoil any surprises!"

"O-kay…?" the blonde ninja didn't know what else to say, giving how Hestia is being vague about her reason for being gone for that long besides the party.

Afterwards, they both went their separate ways and Naruto figured that he could make a detour by the pub while on his way to the guild to acquire new quests. He went inside to see Mama Mia at the counter, preparing to arrange the place to receive the customers when she saw Naruto approach her.

"Well now, fancy see you here this morning," said Mama Mia.

Naruto nodded in response "I just wanted to apologize for what happened last night because I lost my temper, and I'm hoping that we're still on good terms,"

"It's okay, I've already forgiven you and appreciate that you're being conscious of your actions cause if you weren't…," Mia leaned forward and spoke in a joking and also threatening tone "…I would have hunted you down for the payment.

"O-Okay…," Naruto felt a chill crawl along his spine "Yikes, it feels like I'm taking to Grandma Tsunade!"

Syr came in between to ease the tension "It's okay, Naruto. I'm just glad that things turned out okay in the end. So, will you be going to the dungeon today?"

Naruto nodded in affirmation "Yeah, I'll pass by the guild to get some quests before entering the dungeon,"

"In that case, here's a lunchbox to get you by while you in there," Syr held out the aforementioned lunchbox which was wrapped in a white cloth.

"I can't take that, plus I've already packed lunch," Naruto tried to refuse politely.

"Please take it, I had made too much this morning and would really be happy if you accepted it," Syr insisted in a pleading tone.

"*Sigh* Alright, I'll take it," Naruto accepted the lunchbox and placed it in his backpack while actually sending it to his inventory to keep it fresh.

"Hehehehe!" Syr happily ran back to the kitchen to help the other maids.

Kurama smirked "You really can't say no to girls,"

"Don't make me drop a torii on your head," Naruto grumbled in thought.

Mama Mia spoke up "You better make sure to thank Syr; she's the reason why we forgave you for your indiscretion of starting that fight last night, she begged and begged us to even though you already paid for the damage you caused and was already forgiven. That, and Bete was talking all the smack behind your back,"

"Syr did all that for me, even though we didn't know each other for long?" Naruto felt touched for her concern for him, reminding him of how Iruka did the same back in Konoha.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when Mia placed her hands on his shoulders and spoke to him "Let me give you some advice; focus all of your energy into surviving. After all; the ones who are being looked down upon are the ones that come out as the winners,"

After that, Mia spun him around to face the door "Now get going, I'll be very disappointed if you get yourself killed because there's already been a lot of talk about you who's an F-Ranker besting a B-Ranker who's part of the Loki Familia which got you quite a bit of fame for that,"

"That explains the looks and whispers I got along the way," Naruto muttered to himself, he knew that people would talk but underestimated how many would know.

Nonetheless, she shoves him towards the door "Move it, we've got work and you're in the way!"

"See ya later!" Naruto waved with a foxy grin as he left the pub and began jogging happily towards the guild.

Mia and the waitresses that have been secretly watching Naruto as Syr saw him off with a gentle smile and thought "Bye, Naruto,"

"Mia-san, she really reminds me of Grandma Tsunade with that motherly vibe of hers," Naruto commented.

"Then that means you know better to avoid doing anything to make her mad," Sora pointed, having seen Naruto's past memories through their link.

"That too…," then Naruto had a thought "I wonder how that mutt Bete is taking his loss,"

Sora grinned "No doubt, he's having both a meltdown and existential crisis about how he lost to a low rank adventurer like you,"

"I bet he's ranting and raging right now, too bad we can't see it but can imagine," Kurama chuckled in amusement.


Over at a castle-like manor which is the home of the Loki Familia, the sounds of items breaking and yells of rage could be heard as the members are making it a point to stay far away from the source. We locate the source to be none other Bete whose body is wrapped up in bandages but seems to be recovering from the beatdown he received last night.

"RAAAH! I can't believe it!" Bete grabbed an intact chair and sent it smashing through a window which was the last one as all the other windows were broken up along with fist shaped holes in the walls around him "How can I possibly lose to that pipsqueak!"

Ever since that night when he was brutally humiliated by that unknown F-Ranker; Bete become a laughing stock whenever he's out in public, receiving funny looks, whispered comments behind his back and even went as far as boldly laughing at him which only infuriates him and he threatened them to shut up. And if that wasn't enough humiliation, Tiona has been lording it over his head to remind him that she'll never let him forget it. Needless to say, he was having an extremely bad day as his pride has been tarnished as well his reputation being damaged, and he won't recover from this embarrassment for a while with his image ruined by this. Which is why Bete is currently trashing the place while shouting out profanities.

"When I find that low rank; I'm gonna rip him limb from limb and tear him up that he'll beg for me to kill him and I'm gonna deny him that till I'm satisfied!" Bete yelled in anger while punching yet another hole through the walls.

A fair distance away, the Amazonian Twins Tiona and Tione were watching the spectacle with varying levels of amusement.

"There's something about seeing Bete lose his cool over this that feels so life fulfilling," said Tiona with a grin.

Tione rolled her eyes in response "Of course, you would see it as that,"

"Hey, I've always wanted Bete to be knocked down a peg or two for being so cocky all the time we're with him, this is like the world heard my request and even sweetened the deal by having a low rank beat him to the ground. A memory forever etched into my mind," said Tiona happily.

Tione hummed in thought "But I'm rather curious about that adventurer and would like to know more about him,"

"Maybe we can ask around at the pub, I think one of the waitresses know him," Tiona suggested.

"We could try that,"

The twins looked to see one of the adventurers approaching Bete in an attempt to calm him, shaking their heads at how dumb that decision is and the consequences that come with it.


Back with Naruto, the blonde reincarnated ninja shrugged his shoulders as he continued to walk towards the guild "Probably having a tantrum and planning ways to get back at me while restoring his cred,"

"Speaking from experience?" asked Kurama knowingly.

"Don't even try to go there,"


Later in the night, the party which Hestia spoke of was ongoing as numerous gods as well as high ranking adventurers are taking part while doing various things like feasting on the buffet tables, having conversations or even doing both.

"My dear friends and guests! I, the great god Ganesha welcome you all to the party which is hosted by no other than yours truly! Enjoy the feast prepared for you and make merry to your hearts content!" a robust man with black hair and bronze skin while wearing a red toga and an elephant mask which conceals the upper part of his face announced quite dramatically with various over-the-top postures.

Two adventurers were having a drink when something caught the eye of one of them and he quickly called to the other "Hey man, look over there,"

The other guy looked and realized what he was talking about "It's really her…,"

"Goddess Freya…," both spoke simultaneously with a swoon like they're seconds away from fainting.

The aforementioned goddess wearing her slim fitting outfit which more than pronounced her figure for the night, calmly walked down a spiraling flight of stairs in the company of two escorting when she saw someone familiar and decided to go and speak to them. Upon reaching the person, she called out to gain their attention.

"Why hello there, Hestia-chan. It is certainly good to see you here and I like the dress that you're wearing," said Freya with a fond smile.

Hestia turned to greet the goddess, she was wearing a cobalt-blue shoulder-less long dress with jeweled necklace around her neck and blue flower designed hairclips to tie her twin tails with, a pair of white evening gloves, and a pair of white high-heeled shoes (an; Hestia Blue Dress (Danmachi Memoria Freese) by jamerson1 on DeviantArt)

"Oh hello, Freya. Thanks for the compliment," Hestia was proud of the dress since it was what Naruto helped her get back in Japan. And now she gets to show it off to everyone which seems to be working since even Freya noticed and complimented. But there are also downsides to being with Freya.

"Hey Freya! You too, Shrimp!" someone ran up to them with an all too cheerful smile.

"What are you doing here, Loki?" asked Hestia, she really can't get along with this goddess for too many reasons to count.

Loki smirked in response "What, am I not allowed to be here without any reason?"

Hestia glared but then grinned mischievously upon recalling something "By the way, there's something I want to ask you about?"

"What is it?" asked Loki confusedly.

"I heard rumors about how one of your Familia which happened be some werewolf guy named Bete who got into a fight with an F-ranker and ended up brutally losing against him. So, I wanted to know if this is true,"

Loki's smile instantly turned into a scowl, knowing full well why Hestia was asking that question in such a smug tone. She'd been planning to lord it over her due to the fact that said F-Ranker is part of her Familia that bested Bete who's a B-Ranker in such a brutal fashion. Needless to say, it was embarrassing for her and for Bete but mostly the latter.

Freya who was listening was actually shocked and yet intrigued about hearing this "Oh my, I've heard about the rumors but I'd never thought that it would be true,"

Loki at this point was losing her confidence by this and snarked at Hestia "He just got lucky! The only reason he even won was because it was out of pity due to his rank. Bete went easy on him, that's all! Otherwise, he would've decimated him with ease!"

However, Hestia wasn't convinced by this at all as she still had her confident smirk on her face "Is that what you believe? I seriously doubt it because on the way here, there's been a lot of talk around town about how eyewitnesses saw the whole thing at the pub and can attest to having seen how Bete had been talking smack behind the F-Ranker's back which led to the fight with him getting brutally humiliated. So, needless to say; the rumors are pretty much true," the expression on Loki's face pretty much told Hestia that she hit the nail on the head and decided to go further to add salt to the wound.

"And it turns out that very same F-Ranker who beat one of your members happens to be a part of my Familia," said Hestia proudly.

"It's all fake news!" At this point, Loki was angry at this as well as in denial for the sake of her pride.

The twin tailed goddess just laughs in response at one-upping her whilst Freya who listening in on their conversation and hearing all this really intrigued her

"So, Hestia has finally gained someone as a member of her Familia and it's this supposed F-Ranker who is capable of defeating other adventurers that are many levels higher than his at the moment…how interesting," thought Freya with eyes full of curiosity and interest.

Anyways Hestia continues to banter with Loki "It's about time that you face the facts and accept that one of your strongest members of your Familia got bested by mine. Who knows, there's even a possibility he could potentially beat your Sword Princess Wallenwhatsit,"

Hearing such words, Loki got into Hestia's face with eyes full of anger "Excuse me!? Don't get ahead of yourself just because your Familia bested Bete. She's my favorite human and that F-Ranker is way out of his league. In fact, any guy that looks at her…," her eyes burned with flames of possessiveness "…gets torn to shreds!"

"You two are such great friends," said Freya, watching the two goddesses butt heads in amusement.

Both turned to yell at her simultaneously in indignation "We're not!"

"By the way, Loki. It's a bit late to say, but you look quite different today since I haven't seen you in a dress since forever,"

With this, Loki regained her smug demeanor "Well, I heard a certain shrimp would be coming to the party, so I came to laugh at a poor goddess who can't afford to buy a pretty dress…at least that was the plan," she frowned, looking at Hestia's outfit which has been drawing many eyes towards her right now as they spoke.

Hestia smiled, seeing the look of disappointment in Loki's eyes "Too bad for you, I am no longer that poor goddess you came to laugh at tonight. Not only do I have the perfect dress to display my hidden beauty…but also the perfect boobs to complete the set! Ohohohohoho!" she puffed up her chest, purposely making her breasts jiggle about like jelly.

There was the sound of glass shattering as Loki felt her pride being shot for two things: one of her Familia members get brutally humiliated by Hestia's F-Ranker and that same bratty goddess laughing while purposely pointing out her severe lack of a chest which is a sore spot for her. The words "No Boobs" hung over her head.


Naruto was walking up the stairs as he exited from the dungeon after completing several quests albeit he has yet to gain a level from slaying low level monsters. He looked to see several adventurers also leaving or entering the dungeon as well whilst taking notice of their expensive weapons and armors.

"Man, these guys are well off. I wonder if they had those made or found them in the dungeons," Naruto muttered to himself.

Kurama scoffed "Bah, looks hardly mean a thing to us. I bet they'll start crying like babies the moment their fancy armors and toys get destroyed,"

"Chillax Kurama, I know you're feeling frustrated about the lack of leveling up today,"

"All because that long-eared lady couldn't handle the truth of what we did last night,"

Upon reaching the top of the stairs, Naruto and the others noticed how people were moving a giant wooden crate with a pulley system. Then he heard two men discussing amongst themselves as they looked at the giant crate.

"It's that time of year again, huh?" asked one of the men.

The other nodded in response "The Monsterphilia? A year has really gone by that quickly,"

"Sounds like an event involving monsters," said Sora.

"It does seem like it, maybe Mama Mia or Syr know about it," thought Naruto "I wonder how Hestia-chan is doing, hope she's having fun at the party,"


Contrary to the blonde ninja's thought, Hestia wasn't having fun at all as she is currently getting her cheeks stretched by a furious Loki who's swinging her around like a ragdoll. This spectacle was getting everyone's attention as they find this entertaining and were actually taking bets as well as Freya just standing there and watching all this in front of her.

However, it ended as Loki decided to let Hestia go of her cheeks which have swollen a great deal from being pinched so hard "I'll let you off with that today!" she turned and stomped away in anger as her pride has been damaged enough already as it is.

Hestia had to have the last word "And I'd better see some growth there the next time we meet or I'll start declaring you as a male!"

"Shut your fat face, damm you!" Loki was crying anime tears as she left the party in shame. Never in her life has she felt defeated by Hestia of all people for damaging her pride due to Bete getting humiliated by Hestia's F-Ranker and lastly mentioning about her flat chest. What a terrible day this has been for Loki.

"Hmph, serves her right…," Hestia nursed her cheeks in pain "Oww, my poor cheeks. Maybe I can have Naruto massage them when I get home," she giggled at the thought of Naruto doing that for her, then she was snapped out of her imagination by a familiar voice.

"You two were at it again,"

Hestia turned around to see Hephaestus standing behind her with her arms crossed "Hephaestus, I'm so glad to see you. I was hoping to find you here!"

"If the reason you're looking for me is money, then I'm not lending you a single copper coin," Hephaestus stated bluntly.

Hestia huffed in response "How rude, do I look like someone who treats her friends like piggy banks?"

"Unfortunately, yes you do and I've got the list to prove it,"

"Ugh…," Hestia flinched at that "That was in the past, but now I'm no longer that kind of Hestia! I now have a Familia of my own!"

"You speak of Naruto, the blond-haired fellow with his distinctive whisker marks on his face like that of a fox? I've been hearing a lot of talk regarding how an F-Ranker supposedly beat up a B-Ranker who so happens to be one of Loki's Familia members and I have a hunch that it was Naruto's doing considering what I know of him so far," said Hephaestus, recalling him being the one who rescued Hestia in the dungeon, cooked exquisite food and also killed a demon that was targeting her friend.

Hestia beamed happily "That's the one, it's the very reason why Loki ran off besides her serious lack of boobs!"

Freya giggled in amusement when one of her escorts leaned in to whisper something into her ear before she called out to the two "Hephaestus, Hestia…I'll be talking my leave now,"

"You're leaving already?" asked Hephaestus confusedly.

"Yes, there was something I wanted to check up on…," then she glanced at Hestia "But that's done,"

"Huh?" Hestia blinked in confusion.

"And I've already had all the fun I wanted with all the men here," at Freya's sentence, all the men within the area slinked off in embarrassment while the women looked at them with disgust "Goodbye!" she left with her escorts in tow, leaving the two goddesses in shock.

"So, what is it you want to talk to me about?" asked Hephaestus with a serious look "Depending on what you ask, I may never speak to you again,"

"I-I know that! You see the thing is…," Hestia steeled herself and suddenly went down on her hands and knees, absolutely shocking everyone around but none more so than Hephaestus who had never seen Hestia do this or even imagined that she would.

"I want you to make a weapon for Naruto!" Hestia pleaded.


Over with the said person, he was currently doing some window shopping to pass the time while on his way home from guild after submitting his quests and trading in the magic crystals for money.

"Man, look at all these weapons and they're so expensive too," Naruto commented as he looked at the weapons on display.

"That's just how it is, the quality of the weapon needs to be matched up with the right price to depict its worth. There's also the factor of the weapon possibly being enchanted with a skill or passive ability," said Sora.

"You have a point there, kinda reminds me of the weapons back in my old world, those had some cool and also freaky abilities," thought Naruto.

"Like the Dragon Blade? That weapon could have helped you in so many ways," said Kurama.

"*Sigh* How I miss it…,"

A voice suddenly called out "Oh, it's you, Naruto," he turned to see that it was none other than the god Miach.

"Miach-san, what are you doing here? I thought you'd be at the party that the other gods are attending?" asked Naruto confusedly.

Miach smiled in response "I did receive the invitation and was planning on going, but I was too busy since I have to take care of my Familia,"

"I understand," Naruto likes the ethics of this god, considering that the one in his old world was a manipulative greedy rabbit goddess who tried to turn everyone in her minions just so she could hoard all chakra for herself. Who would have thought that she was a pervert to boot?

"By the way, there's also something I wish to inquire from you…,"

"What is it?"

"I've been hearing a lot of interesting rumors going around about someone who's an F-Ranker that supposedly beat up a B-Ranker who's one of the members of the Loki Familia outside of the Hostess of Fertility, plus there have been eyewitnesses who were there and seen of this F-Ranker had pointed out a very specific description of someone who was wearing strange looking clothes but the most notable feature description was whisker marks on his cheeks," Miach looked pointedly at Naruto.

The blonde ninja rubbed the back of his head "Man, words travel fast or rather too fast. Yeah, it was me,"

"May I ask how it came to that, from what I could tell when we first met, you aren't someone who would start a fight for no good reason,"

"You see, this is what happened…," Naruto went on to tell Miach exactly what had happened day and why he fought Bete who was slandering him at the time.

Miach nodded, now understanding what had happened and cleared things "I see…but even so,"

Naruto cut him "I know you're going to tell me that it's not a good idea to have fights with another Familia, my receptionist made it very loud and clear to me. Oh, I can still hear it now…," he held his head as he felt Eina's voice echoing in his mind.

"What on earth were you thinking, fighting with a member of the Familia and the one belonging to the goddess Loki at that?! What could have possibly driven you into doing so?! First with the demon, then the minotaur and what's next…killing a boss monster? Are you trying to make me die of stress just by worrying about what you could possibly do next?!"

Let's just say…Eina wasn't at all happy and leave it at that which Kurama and Sora laughed at his expense because before going to the Dungeon after visiting the guild, Eina had heard all the rumors about someone who's an F-Ranker who beat up a B-Ranker who so happens to be one of the members of the Loki Familia which was Bete and what she found out that one of the people mentioned about a guy who had whisker marks on his face, she practically scolded Naruto and was very upset for him picking fights with other Familia, especially with the Loki Familia of all things despite his reasoning.

"Well, all I can say is you should try to stay out of trouble, I doubt you want to do anything that would bother Hestia," said Miach.

"It goes without saying," Naruto rubbed the back of his head.

"We both know that trouble follows you everywhere," said Kurama.

"Anyways, I'd like for you to have this," Miach held out a pair of potions to him.

"I can't take those, I haven't even used all the ones you have given to me the first time," Naruto tried to politely refused.

"I'm just brown-nosing a good neighbor, it's also my way of asking you to keep patronizing my Familia," Miach insisted.

Naruto sighed in resignation, knowing he couldn't truly refute someone as kind as Miach who's rare to befriend in one's life as he took the potions "Thanks, but I won't let this go unpaid. If you pass by our place one of these days, I'll treat you to a good meal from where I came from,"

"I'll look forward to that day, see you around and keep doing what you can," then the god went on his way.

"What a cool guy," Naruto commented.

"A far cry from that greedy hag Kaguya," Kurama grumbled, recalling said person with disdain.

Unbeknownst to any of them, inside of the weapon shop which Naruto was glancing at earlier, a redhaired man was having a disagreement with the shopkeeper over something.


"Um, how long do you plan to keep doing that?"

We see both Hephaestus and Hestia are at the former's smithery shop with the latter wearing her normal clothes and was still on her knees begging.

"You know that I'm a busy person and yet you're distracting me from what I'm supposed to be doing right now," said Hephaestus.

"…," Hestia said nothing and continued to grovel.

The smith goddess thought back to the party when Hestia first prostrated herself before her. Hephaestus found it absurd and told Hestia that she has no idea how much she charges for a custom job which Hestia is well aware of that but she flat out told her to come up with the money first and then they'll talk. Hestia who was determined and desperate at the same time got up and chased after her and immediately got on her knees again in front of Hephaestus while everyone is watching as she pleads for her help which she couldn't believe this embarrassment her friend is displaying in front of her which takes us back to the now of her current situation.

"What exactly are you supposed to be doing, anyways?" asked Hephaestus who was at her wits end.

"The Dogeza; Takemikazuchi taught it to me as it's the ultimate strategy for asking a favor," Hestia explained.

"*Groan* that guy, putting his nose where it doesn't belong," Hephaestus got up from her seat to approach Hestia "At the very least, tell me why you want me to do this for you so badly,"

"To repay Naruto," Hestia spoke with a voice full of conviction, not raising her head but the answer caused Hephaestus to pause in midstep "Ever since he rescued me from the Dungeon, nursed me back to health, becoming the first to join my Familia when nobody else would and even hunted down the demon culprit who orchestrated my demise, I wanted to reward his efforts of helping me and show just how much I value him. That night, I saw how his sword is almost broken, yet he continued to press on without complaint or fear as he's completely set on the path he has chosen which is why he needs a weapon that'll help clear the way," Hestia thinks about everything they had gone through since the day they first met and all those happy moments she had with him and the others "Naruto has already done so much for me when we first met and now it's my turn to return the favor in repaying him for taking care of me. All I want to do is take care of him and do whatever I can to support him. Even though I'm his goddess, I haven't been able to do one godly thing for him and he's already done so much for me…I've never felt so useless and I hate it!"

Hephaestus was truly shocked to hear such a thing from Hestia, she really has changed from the lazy and whiny goddess whom she used to know to someone who wants to give her all for those she cherishes, guess having someone like Naruto as her first member of her Familia really changed her.

"Fine," Hephaestus spoke, making Hestia look up in hope "I'll make your weapon, for your child's sake,"

Hestia beamed happily "Thank you, Hephaestus!" she tried to stand up but ended up tripping due to prostrating for so long.

So, Hephaestus had to catch her "Just so you know, you'll have to pay for this request. Even if it takes decades or centuries,"

"I know, I'll be sure to pay!" the twin tailed goddess beamed happily, knowing she's finally doing something to help Naruto.

Hephaestus went to a shelf to take something "What kind of weapon does he use?"

Hestia hummed in thought, recalling that Naruto is skilled in the use of swords and firearms but then she noticed that he has a high proficiency in the use of knives and daggers "He mostly uses knives," then she noticed that Hephaestus was taking out a hammer…HER hammer "Are you going to make it yourself?"

"Of course, I can't get my Familia involved in a private matter between you and I," Hephaestus pointed out to her.

"That's amazing, you're always known as the Divine Smith in heaven,"

"Just to remind you, we're no longer in heaven which means we're not allowed to use our divine powers while we're here,"

But Hestia was happily jumping around "Doesn't matter, I'm just happy you making a weapon for my Naruto!"

Smiling at her friend's childish behavior, Hephaestus pulled back a book on the bookshelf which activated some sort of switch, making it slide to the right and reveal her very own personal smithy.

"You're going to help me too with this,"

"Of course, you can count me!"

Hephaestus examines her tool with a thoughtful look "My first-class weapon for a boy who has only been adventuring for a few days…ugh. Well, at least he's shown and proven that he's more capable than an average beginner for not only saving her from the dungeon, eliminating the demon who planned for her death but also becoming her first member of her Familia. I suppose I'll make this an exception," she smiled with growing excitement "Okay then, let's get started,"


On a sunny day, Naruto was currently walking through the busy streets of the city while wondering what he should do for the day.

"Hestia-chan said that she would be gone for two to three days, maybe she might not come today. Times like these, I wish I could contact her with my phone. Guess that's a disadvantage of being in an Isekai world," Naruto muttered thoughtfully, seeing that it's been three days since Hestia left and was wondering when she would return.

"I think there are other gadgets able to do that, master. Maybe you should check it out when you get back," Sora suggested.

"You might be on to something there,"

"Hey you, spiky hair! Over here nya!" someone called out from behind, Naruto turned around to see a cat girl and recognized her to be one of the waitresses from the Hostess of Fertility. The cat girl bowed to him "Oh, good morning nya,"

"Uh, good morning to you too," Naruto approached the cat girl, feeling rather confused "Is there something you need from me?"

The cat girl suddenly placed a purple purse into his hands "So what I want from you is to deliver the purse to airhead Syr nya," said the cat girl as a matter-of-factly.

"Uh what? I don't really understand what you're trying to tell me" said Naruto "Hiyori wasn't talking like that from what I could remember,"

Then another waitress who's an elf appeared with a wooden basin of dirty cloth to intercede "Anya, that wasn't a good explanation and you've confused Uzumaki here,"

The now named Anya scoffed in response "You're so dumb, Ryuu nya. He can understand that I want him to deliver Syr's wallet which she forgot to her since she skipped out on work and went to the Monsterphilia,"

"That's what she meant," said the now known Ryuu, completely ignoring Anya calling her dumb.

"Now she's making sense, Matatabi is far better at explanations than her," Kurama commented.

Ryuu continued "And also, Syr didn't skip on her shift but rather took a vacation day to attend the festival. She must be in trouble without her wallet, please help her mister Uzumaki,"

Anya piped up cheerfully "Please nya!"

Naruto nodded with a smile as he put away the wallet into his backpack "Alright then, I'll make sure to deliver it to her. By the way, what exactly is the Monsterphilia?"

Both Ryuu and Anya explain to Naruto that the Monsterphilia is a huge festival that's put on by the Ganesha Familia every year as a special event. The Familia takes over the coliseum for an entire day and train the monsters they had captured in the dungeon with thousands come from all over to see it.


Elsewhere on the second floor of a gazebo next to a busy street full of people, we find three females which two of whom are Loki and Ais whilst the third's identity is concealed by the cloak she's wearing.

Loki spoke up in a lazy tone "What are you up to this time? Some kid from another Familia caught your fancy so you're trying to steal him for yourself? Geez, you stir up trouble everywhere you go. You are one messed up goddess,"

Which the cloaked female just smiled at this as it turns out to be none other than the goddess Freya.


"Is it finally ready?" asked Hestia eagerly in the private smithy.

Hephaestus dragged a single finger along the ebony black blade of a knife which caused the magic enhanced engravings to glow pale blue in response before fading "It's ready,"

"Yay!" Hestia cheered happily at the confirmation.

After making sure that the new weapon has been safely secured in a pouch and fastened tightly onto Hestia "There, now you can give it to Naruto, but don't forget about the loan,"

"I won't, said Hestia before leaving the smithy and starting to track down Naruto so she can give him his new weapon, not doubting that he will love it very much.


"So, this kid you're after, what's he like exactly anyway?" asked Loki curiously.

Freya hummed in thought and smiled in response to the question "A strong, reliable, mysterious and extremely powerful warrior. He's also quite cute and handsome. And his aura is radiant. Two colors the likes I never seen before as if he's out of this world. One shown to be golden yellow that is brighter than the sun; filled with nothing but warmth, kindness and gentleness. While the other is crimson red like a raging fire' ready to cast judgment upon those who dared to earn his wrath. Finding him was quite the coincidence. He vanished from my sight almost as quickly as he appeared,"

During the conversation, Ais glanced down towards the street and was surprised to see Naruto walking amongst the crowd for a moment before disappearing from her sight. She broke away from her sight when she and Loki noticed Freya suddenly rise from her seat

"What's wrong?" asked Loki confusedly

Freya replied "I'm sorry but there's been a little emergency,"

Loki looked a bit surprised at this as she asked "What? You can't just walk ou-,"

"We shall meet again, my dear," then Freya walks away, leaving the room.

Loki watches her go "What's that all about?" then she sees something which irritated her "She left me with the bill!" She then notices Ais's expression as she watches the crowd which she asks "So what's eating you?"

"…it's nothing,"


"Man, Ryuu and Anya weren't kidding about how special the Monsterphilia is," Naruto commented, he was currently standing on the side of the road and witnessing many people making their way towards the coliseum to witness this yearly event "But this is gonna make it difficult for me to locate Syr, more so since I didn't memorize her aura. That would have made things easier for me,"

"So, what's the plan then, walking around until we see her? We can't be sure if she's wearing the waitress uniform or regular clothing," Sora pointed out to Naruto.

"Naruto, there you are!" they turned towards the source of the voice and saw Hestia who happily ran towards them while noticing the pouch she has on her back.

"Hestia-chan, you're back," said Naruto happily.

Hestia beamed in response "Of course I am, three days is way too long for us to be separated and I missed you so much. Did you miss me too?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, feeling rather shy "I'd be lying if I said no,"

"As I thought, we do have an incredible bond!" Hestia suddenly grabbed Naruto's hand and began pulling him away.

"Hestia-chan, where are we going?"

"On a date, of course!"

Naruto was taken aback with his cheeks tinged pink "D-D-Date!? B-But I've been asked to find someone!"

"Is that so? Then we can look for the person while also having our date, hence killing two birds with one!" said Hestia cheerfully.

"What kind of logic is that?" thought Naruto confusedly.

After buying crepes from a food stall, Naruto and Hestia settled themselves atop a small grassy hill outside the coliseum. It goes without saying that Naruto is really nervous while Hestia is oblivious to his current emotional state as she took a bite out of her crepe and enjoyed the taste.

"Mmmmm, it tastes so yummy! Why don't you give it a try?" Hestia held out her crepe to Naruto for him to have a taste.

Naruto blushed, seeing that it will be an indirect kiss should he take a bite from where she had bit into "I-I-It's okay, there's no need since I have mine which is the same flavor,"

Hestia pouted "Are you grossed out because I bit into it first?"

"No no no no! it's not like that!" Naruto couldn't bring himself to talk about the potential indirect kiss "Why do you try mine instead?"

"Running away, are we?" Hestia teased mischievously, finding Naruto's reactions cute "Well, okay," she took a bite of Naruto's crepe but had some cream on her cheek.

"Um, you got some cream on your cheek," Naruto pointed out shyly.

"Could you get it for me?" Naruto wiped the cream off Hestia's cheek, making the goddess all the more cheerful but the next thing he knew was that she licked the cream off his finger.

"H-Hestia-chan?!" Naruto's face was redder than a cherry and steam wafted from his head into the air.

Hestia giggled at his reaction "Awwww, you're so cute!"

"Please stop that…," Naruto bowed his head in embarrassment, then he heard snickering at the back of his mind "And you two shut up!"

"This is gold," Kurama guffawed.

"How many karats?" asked Sora.

"Not enough,"


Somewhere in a dark area which appears be underneath the coliseum, judging by the roars of the crowd above. The guards who were supposed to watch over the captured beasts are seen laying on the ground unmoving but not dead as their assailant silently strolls past the cages containing the captured that leered at the lone figure passing by them.

The assailant stepped into the light to reveal a familiar cloak that belongs to none other than Freya who approaches a large cage with a smile "Hmm, I think you'll do," She unlocks the cage and steps inside as she reaches out to a large hulking beast whilst radiating wisps of purple aura which began to control it "What a shame. I would've preferred to observe his progress a while longer, but this will have to do,"


As of now, Naruto and Hestia were snacking on roasted meat on sticks after that flowery moment earlier.

"Seems as though you failed to mention that the person you're looking for was a girl. Oh Naruto, you are such a sly dog,"

Naruto looked at Hestia in surprise "Wait what? Hold on, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing," Hestia turned away, huffing in jealousy

"It doesn't sound like it's nothing to me. You clearly got the wrong idea."

*BOOM*

Suddenly, there was an explosion from inside the coliseum as something emerged from the entrance, revealing to be a giant ape with white fur, wearing a metal chest plate and a metal helmet that's attached to its glowing red eyes but what's noticeable is that it's loose from its cage judging from the binding shackle chains on its arms. Naruto's Isekai System identified the monster to be a Silverback Ape

"Imma go on a limb and guess that King Kong got isekaied here," Kurama commented.

As it roars, Naruto Hestia looked shocked that a monster is loose and tensed when it looked directly at them although to Naruto, it looks like it's starring specifically at him for some reason.

As the Ape monster stares at the two, it receives hears Freya's alluring voice in its mind "Capture the one with the spiky blonde hair please," hearing this made monster growl at the duo.

Hestia commented fearfully "Call me crazy but…is that thing looking at me? Kinda looks like it is,"

Naruto replied as he deactivates the gravity seals on his body "Well, we're not sticking around to find out what it wants, we're leaving. Let's go!"

Music Start: FINAL FANTASY XV OST; Hunt Battle Theme (Hunt or be Hunted)

He scooped Hestia into his arms and took with great speed right as the monster gave chase by leaping after them. With his unrestrained speed, Naruto dashed through the streets and slipped through the alleyways in hopes that the monster had lost sight of them, but seeing the red blip on the AutoMap still following after them dashed those hopes.

"Why on earth is that overgrown monkey chasing after us?!" asked Hestia worriedly.

"I'm wondering about that myself!" Naruto responded as he continued to run.

He skidded to a stop as he noticed that he has entered a part of the city which he hadn't entered before, a quick look at the AutoMap told him that they were at the Daedalus Street before running inside when he saw the red blip heading their way. He slipped through the alleyways with Hestia in his arms all the while seeing the people close the windows fearfully at the sight of the monster, gritting his teeth as he knows that he needs to resolve this before any casualties occur.

They had just exited into an open area when Naruto felt the hairs on the back of his neck raise and hardly dove to the side as something slammed onto where he once stood which turned out to be the shattered remains of a wooden crate before the monster finally caught up to them.

"He must have been the one that threw that wooden crate in order to intercept me," Naruto thought grimly.

"Naruto!" hearing Hestia's panicked voice, Naruto's head snapped up to see the goddess laying nearby and the monster has set its eyes on her then he realized with horror that she must have slipped out of his grip and gotten separated from him when the monster threw the crate at them.

Seeing the monster approach Hestia, Naruto dashed forward towards the beast's back whilst unsheathing the Tsumetogi before leaping high into the air "Get away from her you overgrown ape! Gekka-zakuro!" he descended towards the ape's head and swung his katana to inflict lethal damage.

*Clang*

The moment the attack made contact with the helmet, the blade broke into two much to his shock, having completely forgotten that it was already in a bad condition. Wasting no time to counter, the monster swatted Naruto to collide against the wall and slump to the ground.

Hestia was horrified upon seeing this "Naruto!"

The monster approached the unmoving ninja and reached out to grab him when he was suddenly engulfed in a plume of smoke which dissipated to reveal a small canister in his place with a pin lying next to it. Suddenly, the canister released a bright flash of light right in the ape's face, making it roar out in pain from being blinded.

Confused by this, Hestia found being lifted from the ground and carried away then she saw that it was Naruto who was running away from the monster much to her relief "Naruto, you're okay!"

"Yeah, I used a technique to switch places when it attacked and used the flashbang grenade for a distraction so we can get away," Naruto explained, but inwardly his mind was racing "That thing's not gonna stop following us. I should be able to handle it but I can't do so fully with Hestia likely to get caught in the crossfire. I gotta make sure that she doesn't get in harm's way!"

Upon exiting the alleyway into yet another open area, Naruto rapidly looked around for another way out when he saw a tunnel with an open gate. He looked at the tunnel for a few seconds then made a decision, He carried Hestia over to the tunnel and had her enter it, the moment she went inside, he immediately shut the gate and made sure to lock it.

Hestia ran back to the gate and grabbed the bars "Naruto, what are you doing?!"

Naruto looked at her with a serious expression "Hestia-chan, I need you to head back to the church while I face the monster. I'll buy you time to do so,"

"What are you saying? Open the gate right now!" Hestia demanded but Naruto shook his head in refusal, then they heard the monster roaring in the distance.

Naruto turned around with his back facing Hestia as he spoke "I'll be fine but I can't fight that thing properly if you're likely to get caught up in it. So, it's for the best for you to run back home while I take care of it," he looked over his shoulder to smile at her "Don't worry, I've dealt with worse than this," then he ran towards where the monster is located on the Automap.

"Naruto, wait!" Hestia shook the gate but it remained locked tightly "Come back, Naruto! NARUTO!"


Back at the coliseum, Ganesha was watching the ongoing event with a smile on his face as he listens to the happy cheers of the spectators. However, two members of his Familia wearing masks ran up to him in distress.

"Lord Ganesha, we have an emergency! Some of the monsters have escaped from their cages!" said one of the men worriedly.

Ganesha frowned behind his mask upon hearing this "How did it happen? What about the guards?"

"We came upon them, laying on the ground. It looked like they had their souls sucked out, we suspect someone from outside to be responsible for this…," the other reported.

"We can worry about that later; how many have escaped?"

"About nine, the strike force is already on the move to subdue them by any means,"

Ganesha rose from his seat "We won't be able to subdue them all in time, we shall work alongside the other Familia. Go and ask the other gods here for help,"

The men were hesitant upon hearing this "But Lord Ganesha, seeking help from other Familia over matter which is our sole responsibility will humiliate the Ganesha Familia!"

"Don't be arrogant!" Ganesha jabbed at his chest with a thumb "I am Ganesha, the Lord of the Masses! Our ultimate joy is to see the happiness of our children! Forget about your desire for position and honor! Our highest priority is the safety of the citizens!"

Seeing the truth in their god's words and realizing their error, the men bowed in reverence and apology "We're terribly sorry!"

"To avoid causing any panic and confusion, we're going to let the festival continue. Don't let this problem get any bigger than it already is, now go!"

"Yes sir!" the men ran to do what their god asked without hesitation.

Ganesha frowned in thought "What is it they're after? Some kind of diversion or is it something else entirely?"

Elsewhere, Freya stood atop a tall building all the while smiling with anticipation.


"Whoa!" Naruto dashed from side to side and at times somersaulting to evade the wooden crates and barrels that the Silverback Ape was throwing at him from a distance "Geez, are you related to Donkey Kong by any chance? Those guys have a thing for tossing barrels and crates,"

"Dodge more and snark less!" Sora called out in urgency.

Naruto immediately somersaulted towards a wall to dodge yet another wooden crate and kicked off it to launch himself higher into the air, he quickly drew out the dual Taurus PT92 and unleashed a rain of bullets upon the monster, causing it to staggered backwards a bit as he landed back on the ground but frowned, seeing that it wasn't inflicting that much damage as he hoped.

"I regret having not asked for the shotgun, would have really helped here," Naruto grumbled in thought.

"Don't look now, but monkey boy's coming at ya!" said Kurama.

"Huh? Yikes!" Naruto rolled to the side as the Silverback swung the chains attached to its shackles towards which hit the fountain that he was standing close to, spilling the water all over the ground. Naruto took noticed of the wet ground and had an idea "Hey Furious George! Why don't you come closer and try hitting me? You might not miss!"

"Rooar!" the Silverback lunged at Naruto angrily, attacking with numerous punches. Naruto took evasive action, jumping from left to right constantly around the incoming attacks before suddenly jumping away to latch onto the side of a house with his chakra.

Seeing that the monster is now standing at where the ground is wet, Naruto made his move "You're in for a shock, Thunder!" Naruto thrust a hand above his head, calling forth numerous lightning bolts to strike down on the Silverback from above, the puddles of water it was standing on helped increase the elemental damage and seemed to have paralyzed it too.

Naruto leapt off the wall into the air once more "Shadow Clone jutsu!" he conjured a several copies of himself while in midair "Let's do this, Clone Spinning Axe Kick!" he and the clones began to somersault as they then came spinning down, slamming their heels onto the monster's shoulders and head before flipping away from it "Shadow Clone Body Slam!" they landed on all fours before launching themselves forward and striking with a barrage of flying headbutts in the Silverback's torso. The monster tried to recover but was unable to do so in time and received a unison of uppercuts, getting knocked down to the ground on its back.

"Did that do it?" asked one of the clones warily.

*ROAR*

The Silverback ape rose to its feet, looking absolutely furious while pounding at its chest with its fists.

Another clone responded with a sarcastic remark "Does that answer your question?"


Hestia was running through the tunnel as fast as she could so she could reach the end of it and find her way back to Naruto when she suddenly tripped and fell to the ground. She was getting back to her feet when she realized that she still has the knife that she planned to gift to Naruto after their little date before this incident happened. Hestia remembered what Hephaestus told her.

"The hieroglyphics you carved into this knife, gave it a status of its own. In other words, the weapon is alive. The moment it comes to the hands of your child; Naruto Uzumaki, it will come to life for the first time and shall grow alongside him," Hephaestus words echoed in her mind.

"Naruto…," Hestia stood up with eyes full of determination and resumed running, knowing that she needs to give him the knife as soon as she can.


"Are you sure?!" asked Eina in shock, she was giving a child some directions to where he wants to go when Misha came to tell her what happened.

"Yes I am, someone from the Ganesha Familia told me that monsters have escaped from the west gate of the coliseum!" said Misha but she was silenced when Eina pressed her finger on her lips.

"Keep it down, we can't let people hear and start panicking!" Eina scolded with a whisper.

"Sorry about that. Anyways, they need us to send any adventurers available to help them with the situation, regardless of their Familia," said Misha.

Eina frowned in thought "This might be a problem since the odds of there being any adventurers are…,"

"Oho, what's this I hear? Sounds like a great opportunity to make some money!" someone spoke up.

Eina and Misha turned and were to see Ais and Loki with the latter having attempt to cup a feel but was thwarted by the former by having her finger twisted.

"Miss Loki and Ais Wallenstein?" Eina wasn't expecting to see them here but she didn't waste time and brought them up to speed about the whole situation.


"Hey, watch where you're swinging those chains! You almost took my head off with those!" Naruto complained after somersaulting backwards to create some distance between him the Silverback when it attacked him with the aforementioned chains.

"That's pretty much what it's going for in its hatred for you," Kurama commented with a deadpanned expression.

"I know, but still…," he frowned as he looked at the bullet wounds and cuts which blood was seeping out of the monster but it still appears capable of continuing to battle him, he looked down at the combat knives in his hands which were broken due to deflecting the chain lashes when he and his clones fought "I'm not hitting hard enough here, my spells and jutsu aren't working that much,"

"Why aren't you using the Rasengan to end this already? That jutsu has never let you down,"

"Think about it, Kurama. That technique is powerful or rather too powerful. Should he hit the Silverback or miss, he could seriously damage the surrounding houses which people are hiding inside at the moment. We're trying to avoid casualties here," Sora explained in disagreement to the earlier suggestion.

"Not to mention I'm still recovering my proficiency in my jutsu too," Naruto added "For now, the best thing I can do i-,"

"Naruto!" someone called out to him, his eyes widened upon seeing Hestia having returned in spite of having been told to run away.

"Hestia-chan, why did she come back here?!" Naruto exclaimed in disbelief.

"Focus, the monkey is going after her again!" Kurama called out in alert.

Snapping back into focus, Naruto saw the Silverback now approaching Hestia and immediately reacted as he channeled chakra to his feet and practically blurred past the monster to scoop Hestia into his arms before going through the nearest alleyway, he went through several narrow passageways before stopping in one so as to catch a breather.

Naruto placed Hestia on the ground and looked at her sternly "Why did you come back; don't you have any idea how dangerous that monster is?! I'm trying to protect you and you're making it hard for me to do so!"

Hestia flinched back a bit from the stern look he was giving her but understood that he was really worried for her "I'm sorry, Naruto. But I couldn't leave you when there's still something I can do to help you,"

Naruto's frown lessened a bit "What do you mean?"

"It's the reason why I was gone for three days, I was planning to give it to you after our date if we hadn't been attacked by that monster," Hestia took off the pouch and raveled it to reveal a black knife with engravings to Naruto who was surprised to see it.

"You went to have a weapon made for me?"

Hestia nodded happily "That's right, specially made just for you. Right now, I need to access your status in order to synchronize it with you,"

ROAR*

"Hang on, we'll need to move to another spot to do so if we don't want to be interrupted," Naruto scooped Hestia up and took to leaping through the rooftops.

As he was running to who knows where, Hestia took the time to realize what's going on and started to blush while smiling "I'm sorry Naruto, this might be a bad time but I just wanted to let you know you're making me really happy,"

Naruto looked at her with both eyebrows raised "Hestia-chan, is this really the best time to say that right now?"

"This goddess really needs to prioritize better," Sora commented.

Locating a good hiding spot in an enclosed space between two houses and a concrete wall, Naruto dropped down to it.

After checking the Automap to see how far the Silverback is from their new position, Naruto turned to Hestia "Okay, we're far enough but you need to hurry before it finds us again," he took off his jacket and shirt before turning to show his back to Hestia.

Hestia nodded in affirmation and bit her finger enough for a drop of blood to fall onto Naruto's back which caused the black glyph symbols to glow brightly then unknown numbers and letters appeared before her as she began the process of synchronization with the knife.

As it was ongoing, Hestia called out to Naruto "Hey Naruto, do you remember that promise you made to me that night when you became a part of my Familia?"

Naruto immediately recalled the promise on that night "I do; I promised to never leave you alone. I have every single intention to uphold that promise no matter what. A good friend once told me 'When a person has something precious that they want to protect, then they become genuinely strong'," he glanced over his shoulder and smiled at Hestia "In this new life of mine, you've become someone I truly cherish. Which is why there's no way I'm going to lose to anyone or anything when I have you as my precious person,"

"Naruto…," Hestia was stunned speechless, staring into his eyes and seeing the ironclad resolution. She truly feels blessed to have met someone like Naruto.

"I'll say this again 'As long I live and breathe, you will never be alone and that is a promise of a lifetime',"

"Naruto, thank you so much," Hestia smiled joyfully and with that she had finally completed the synchronization "Alright, it's done,"

"Great!" Naruto quickly put his clothes back on and turned to his goddess who held out the knife towards him "So, this is…,"

"Your…no…," Hestia corrected herself "OUR weapon, I call it…the Hestia Knife! With it, you'll never lose and never leave me alone!"

Naruto took the knife and pulled it out of its sheath, right then the engravings on the black blade glowed brightly in resonance and he felt it pulsing steadily like that of a heartbeat. Then a window appeared in front of him, displaying information concerning his new weapon.

Name: Hestia Knife

Type: Knife

Element: ?

Ability: Symbiosis [Grows alongside the user, its overall power depending on that of its chosen wielder]

Attack: ?

Defense: ?

MAG Attack: ?

MAG Defense: ?

Bio: A special knife forged by Hephaestus with help from Hestia as her hair and ichor were used in its creation. The weapon possesses the unique ability to grow alongside its wielder and capable of conducting magic

"Guess congrats are in order for officially receiving your very own weapon in this world," said Kurama with a smile.

"I can sense something in the knife like it's alive," Sora added.

Naruto clenched the Hestia Knife with a smile "Thanks Hestia-chan, our victory is guaranteed with this,"

Hestia beamed "You're welcome,"

"Now let's see about dealing with that monkey, but with more elbow room,"

The Silverback finally managed to track down its targets to an open area, there it saw them there albeit Naruto standing before it in confidence while the goddess hid behind some wooden crates for safety.

"Sorry for leading you around in a chase," Naruto rolled his shoulders and bounced on his toes a few times "But this time; no more running or hiding, man to monkey with only one walking away alive. Whaddya say about that?"

ROAR* the Silverback pounded its fists against its chest in response.

Naruto grinned widely "I'm glad you approve…," he sharply unsheathed the Hestia Knife and held it in a reverse grip with the engravings on the blade glowing brightly in front of him "Let's do this!"

Music Change: FINAL FANTASY XV OST; Imperial Battle Theme #1 (Veiled in Black Arrange)

Both combatants charged at each other as the Silverback began swinging its large arms at Naruto wo was swiftly darting around and avoiding the incoming strikes before somersaulting overhead and landing behind it. The Silverback spun around and lashed out with one of the shackle chains, Naruto skillfully deflected the chains but was surprised when the Hestia Knife rather destroyed the chains instead with hardly much effort.

"Whoa…," Naruto was surprised, earlier his combat knives would shatter from the heavy impact of the chains but apparently not so for this one as it's practically unscratched without so much as a chip on its blade.

"That's our power, Naruto!" Hestia called out excitedly "That knife is alive, it will grow along with you and never let you down!"

"I see…," Naruto glanced at the knife "It represents our bond which will grow stronger as we move forward,"

He dashed forward and quickly rolled forward on the ground to dodge underneath the Silverback's incoming punch before springing up to slash at its side, forming a large gash which began to bleed heavily. Slamming a palm to the ground, Naruto performed a 180-degree sliding U-turn to charge back in and jump to latch onto the monster's back with chakra applied to his feet before proceeding to hack and slash rapidly as it flailed about while trying to get him off which it almost did had he not jumped off with a backflip beforehand.

While in midair, Naruto sped through a set of handsigns to use a jutsu "Wind Style: Air Bullets!" he took a deep breath before expelling a barrage of compressed spheres of air from his mouth at the Silverback, pummeling it repeatedly.

"Keep it up, Naruto! You're winning!" Hestia cheered loudly.

"I know you can conduct magic, but can you also do the same for chakra?" asked Naruto, the Hestia Knife seem to pulse in response and he could somehow sense it trying to tell him that it's possible "Great, just what I need to end this in one attack but first…," he created several shadow clones to rush at the monster to keep it occupied while he prepared for his final attack.

"Channel my wind chakra into the blade…," Naruto held the Hestia Knife to the side with one hand grabbing the wrist of the other that held weapon as a blue aura formed around it "Mold it into a blade of wind sharp enough to cut through any metal…," the blue aura extended from the physical blade and took on the shape of a single-edged blade which was constantly releasing a low humming sound.

With his preparations complete, Naruto looked to see his shadow clones still keeping the Silverback occupied "This is in your memory, Asuma…," he crouched slightly whilst channeling chakra to his legs then he moved at speeds that he appeared as a blur to anyone watching.

"It's over, Flying Swallow!" Naruto disappeared in front of the Silverback followed by a bright flash then reappeared behind it with the monster standing still for a moment then its head slid off to fall to the ground with a thud then the body followed suit before both dissipated to ashes, leaving a large magic crystal behind in the aftermath.

Music End

The area was silent until Naruto himself broke it "We won…," he looked down at the Hestia Knife "Thanks for helping me…," he smiled, seeing the knife glow as if saying 'You're welcome' then soon found himself being hugged by Hestia.

"You did it, you won!" the goddess exclaimed joyfully.

Naruto smiled in response "No, WE won,"

The people who had been hiding in their homes and also watching came out and began applauding Naruto for his heroic victory over the rampaging monster. Unbeknownst to anyone, Ais Wallenstein who had been assisting in eliminating the monsters and was locating the Silverback had arrived only to witness Naruto finishing the monster off.

"So, I was too late, but still…," Ais smiled a bit "I guess congratulations are in order. Huh?" the Sword Princess also witnessed the color of the blonde adventurer's Guild Gem changing from Copper to Gray which made her smile all the more for what it meant.

Loki finally caught up albeit panting heavily "What, it's over already? Geez, just look at her being all lovey-dovey with her adventurer," then she noticed that Ais wasn't paying attention and smiled perversely "No way I'm gonna pass this chance," she slowly reached a hand out to try to grab Ais' butt but Ais moved away while at the same time hitting her in the face with the tip of the scabbard as she walks away from the crowd.

"We're leaving already?" Loki quickly followed after Ais "I told you; we should take a break!"

Back with Naruto and Hestia, the former had a sense of nostalgia as he recalled the welcome he had after returning from defeating Pein, the feeling of true acknowledgement. Then a window appeared in front of him with new information.

[Level Up!]

[Rank Up: E-Rank!]

[Unlocking New Features!]

[Please wait]

Upon reading those messages, Naruto looked down at his Guild Gem and saw that it was no longer Copper but Gray now which meant that he had advanced to a higher rank now due to leveling up from defeating the Silverback.

"Hestia-chan, look at my Guild Gem; I'm an E-Rank now!" said Naruto, cheerfully holding up the recolored Guild Gem for her to see.

"That's…great," said Hestia, but the blonde noticed something off about how she was talking now "…really…great…,"

"Hestia-chan?" Naruto's look of concern changed to shock when he saw fall to the ground had he not caught her in his arms and the crowd was just as concerned "Hestia-chan, what happened?!"

"We'll need to get her some help, quickly!" said Sora urgently.

As this was happening, Freya from a far distance had watched the whole thing and wasn't disappointed from the display as she spoke thoughtfully "I suppose I might have done something that put Hestia in harm's way, but we'll play again soon, won't we?" She giggles as she suddenly vanishes away without a trace of her presence.


Night has fallen over the city after everything that had happened, the Ganesha Familia were currently in the coliseum oddly enough cleaning up the place along with their god who himself was cheerfully doing so.

"A lot happened today but you all did great! Ganesha is extremely satisfied!" Ganesha struck a rather flamboyant pose with the broom in his hand "And by the way, I am Ganesha!"

All of his followers sweatdropped well-meaning but eccentric nature "We know…,"

Over at the guild, Eina was inputting the report of today's incident "There were no injuries or fatalities…," she finished the last report and helped herself to a cup of coffee but frowned a bit "Even so…who did this and why?"


In a room at the Hostess of Fertility, Naruto was currently watching over Hestia who was still unconscious but he was relieved to learn that it was simply due to exhaustion which made him wonder if it has something to do with the forging of the Hestia Knife during the three days she was gone.

"About what happened today…," Naruto spoke to Kurama and Sora "I have a nagging suspicion that it wasn't a coincidence but someone deliberately set those monsters free,"

"I've been suspecting the same thing, I mean look at how that Silverback was so obsessed with you and Hestia, not even going on a rampage," said Sora thoughtfully.

Kurama hummed thoughtfully "It could be that the monster was being controlled by something or someone as a means to either kill you or rather study you,"

"You think it could be a demon?" asked Naruto.

"The possibility is there but it could also be someone else,"

"Guess I'm gonna have to get stronger as soon as possible before this unknown tries something else,"

Sora spoke up "By the way, have you checked on your stats?"

"Oh yeah, I completely forgot about it when I saw Hestia-chan pass out," Naruto called on his status screen which appeared before him to display the latest changes to him.

Name: Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze

Age: 18

Race: Human (Reincarnated)

Job: ?

Title: Child of Prophecy, Sage of Peace, Hestia's Blessed, ?

Affiliation: Hestia Familia (Member) Spiraling Leaf Inn (Proprietor)

Adventurer Rank: E-Rank (Gray)

Level: 21

Strength: 94

Magic/Chakra: 100

Attack: 79

Defense: 83 (20) (Fuinjutsu Boost)

MAG Attack: 81

MAG Defense: 72

Agility: 101

Luck: ?

Falna: Burning Will [When damaged to a critical condition, the user's overall stats are sharply increased when facing enemies of higher levels than the user. Also, the Exp Points are doubled when defeating enemies of levels higher than the user]

Weapon: Hestia Knife (Magic Knife) [ATK:? MAG:?]

Sub-Weapon: Taurus PT92 (Semi-Auto Pistol) [ATK:25 MAG:0]

Armor: None

Accessory: None

Skills: Chakra Manipulation LV4, Shadow Clone, Substitution, Rasengan, Wind Manipulation LV4, Fuinjutsu LV6, Fire Manipulation LV2, Fire Magic Tier 1, Thunder Magic Tier 1, Blizzard Magic Tier 1

[Achievements Feature unlocked]

[Achievements are a way of recognizing one's accomplishments and milestones which he attains in his lifetime as an Adventurer]

[List of Achievements]

The Adventurer's First Step

Entered a dungeon for the first time

Strong alone, Stronger Together

Formed a party

Beyond what You See

Found a hidden room in the dungeon

Beyond the Gate

Defeated a Floor Boss

A God's Child

Joined a god's Familia

Demon Slayer

Killed a demon

Shattering the status quo

Defeated a high ranked adventurer

Moving on Up

Advanced to E Rank

A Godly Gift

Received a specialized weapon the goddess Hestia

Beast Slayer

Killed a high-level monster

2 Stars

Reached Level 2 for the Inn

"I wonder how the Inn got upgraded to level 2?" asked Naruto confusedly.

"Who knows? Maybe we should check in with Felicia when we get back to your world," Sora suggested.

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock on the door, Naruto went to open it to find Syr standing there with a tray in hand.

"Hello Naruto, I wanted to come and check how lady Hestia is doing," said Syr.

Naruto responded "She's okay, just tired and resting at the moment. I'm thankful that you let us use one of the rooms,"

"No need to worry about that, we're happy to help and Mama Mia certainly doesn't mind," Syr looked down sadly "But I feel guilty because had I not forgotten about my wallet then neither of you would have gotten involved in the first place,"

Naruto waved her off "It's not your fault, no one would have known that could have happened today,"

"Besides that, everyone has been talking about him how brave and strong you were when you fought that monster,"

Naruto rubbed the back his head sheepishly "It was nothing, I'm pretty sure there are others who would have done a lot more than I did,"

Syr shook her head in disagreement "You have been gaining a lot of fame from both beating up a member of the Loki Familia at the pub and fighting off the monster with amazing skill. I have to admit that I got to watch a little bit of the battle and liked it what I saw…," she suddenly leaned forward to bring her lips close to Naruto's ear and whispered rather seductively "And I fell in love,"

"…!" Naruto leaned back in shock at what she just said.

Syr giggled mischievously "I need to get back to work, I'll check on you two later," she went downstairs, leaving the blonde ninja in shock.

"Is…is she messing with me?" asked Naruto confusedly.

Sora shrugged in response "Who knows?"

"…Naruto?" hearing a tired voice, Naruto saw that Hestia was waking up and went to sit on a chair next to the bed to check on her.

"Hestia, are you doing okay now? You really had me worried," asked Naruto with concern.

"I'm fine, sorry for worrying you," Hestia smiled apologetically "So, what happened while I was passed out,"

"From what Syr told me, all the other monsters that escaped from the coliseum has been taken care of. I even heard about Ais Wallenstein helped out too," said Naruto thoughtfully

"…," Although Hestia was happy about that but for some reason, she couldn't help but frown at how Naruto spoke of her like he was interested about the sword princess which she didn't like but didn't think much about it since he doesn't know about her that well, so she let it slide as she has nothing to worry about it.

"By the way…," Naruto held out the Hestia Knife "Did you really have your friend Hephaestus make the knife for me?"

Hestia nodded in affirmation "That's right, I've noticed how you were always interested in her weapons and often peering through her shop window," she then pointed at the knife in his hands "It may not be the ones you saw that caught your eyes but it's the only one of its kind in the world,"

Naruto felt the pulse from the knife and felt it trying to tell him that Hestia was right about it being a unique weapon made just for him alone and no one else.

Hestia continued "I didn't want to just sit and watch as you handle everything on your own for me, I don't like being…taken care of like you always did,"

The blonde reincarnated ninja understood that Hestia wanted to be of help to him in her own way, but even so… "Hestia-chan, how exactly did you get Hephaestus to forge a weapon for me? From what I know, Hephaestus's Familia weapons are insanely expensive even for me, more so if it is custom made,"

Hestia waved it off "Not to worry, it's been handled,"

"…," Naruto frowned inwardly, not entirely convinced and he was sure that Sora and Kurama were in the same boat. In his world, having something custom made costs a lot of money depending on the person meant to do so and their level of skill. He decides to talk about this subject when things are calmer "You didn't have to go that far for me, you know,"

Hestia shook her head in disagreement "I know that you want to get stronger so you can protect me and help many others, which is why I want to help you in any way I can. I want to be more than your source of strength, after all…," she cupped Naruto's cheeks with her hands "I love you with all my heart,"

Naruto was stunned by her words and could tell that she meant what she said with every fiber of her being. He felt his heartstrings being pulled by her honesty as it reminds him of the times someone ever said something so heartfelt to him back at his original world.

Unable to hold himself back, Naruto reached out and hugged Hestia "Thank you, Hestia. Hearing those words mean a lot to me,"

Hestia smiled softly as she hugged him back, feeling a sense of contentment and warmth from his embrace "No need to thank me, I'm your goddess after all,"

"No doubt about that,"


Somewhere in the deep part of the dungeon, a male adventurer was exploring the passageways, keeping an eye out for monsters or anything of value. In his company is a young girl wearing a tattered hooded cloak whilst carrying an oversized knapsack with unbelievable ease.

"Tch, I would have gone if you weren't such a useless Supporter," said the adventurer rudely hit the girl on the head with a fist.

"…," the girl didn't so much as flinch or even react to such an action.

The man sneered "Well, if we get surrounded by monsters, I could always use you as a decoy and escape. Come along, you useless moron," then he walked away, leaving the girl behind to follow.

"…," the girl followed after him with cold eyes but a smirk appeared on her face.


*Bonus Scene*

Back in the Spiraling Leaf Inn, Felicia was taking care of place as she sweeps the floor while happily humming a song. After completing the cleaning of the inn for the day, she went to sit on one of the chairs in the kitchen to rest a bit.

"*Sigh* I wonder how Naruto-sama and Hestia-sama are doing? I hope they're okay in the other world," said Felicia with a sigh. She hopes they're alright and would come back soon as she won't deny that it's getting rather lonely here when there's nobody to talk to since she's the only one in the Inn.

Suddenly, there was a certain shift in the atmosphere which alerted Felicia who immediately shot up from her seat and started looking around with urgency.

"There's someone here," Felicia sensed the presence of three people, but for some strange reason, two out of the three felt familiar which was rather to her "Why does it feel like I know the two of them? How odd,"

Arming herself with a broom, Felicia located where they are which she found them in the living room but then was taken by surprise upon see who they are. There three are girls with two appear to be twins judging by their shared similarities while the third is shorter than the two. But what really got her shocked is that they're Zashiki-warashi like her, however the shorter one feels different than them as she could sense yokai energy from her.

The moment the twins set their eyes on Felicia, their expressions became that of joy as they rushed over and hugged her happily.

"Felicia-oneesama, we missed you so much!" the twins exclaimed while continuing to hug the confused maid.

"H-Huh?" Felicia didn't know how to react to this scenario.

As this was going on, the third girl stood and watched as this was going on before finally speaking up "This is certainly interesting, I'm rather curious about the reason why I was brought here and I feel I won't have to wait too long to find out,"


This is Hussbek online with the latest chapter, Naruto sets out for his daily dungeon crawling while Hestia attends a banquet for the gods and would be gone for a few days. Turns out that word of Naruto's scuffle with Bete has travelled throughout as noted when he went to visit Mama Mia and Syr at the pub. There was a comedic fight between Hestia and Loki before the former made a request to Hephaestus to forge a special weapon for Naruto even if she had to go on her knees to plead.

Sometime later, Naruto went to the Monsterphilia to deliver a wallet to Syr who had forgotten it. There he reunited with Hestia and went on a date of sorts, but things went wrong when monsters suddenly escaped from the Coliseum with one being Silverback being solely focused on the two due to machinations of the goddess Freya. Things were tense but Hestia providing the Hestia Knife to Naruto turned it all around and the monster was soundly defeated. Now we see clues of things to come with the question being how they will affect Naruto.

For this chapter, I tried to make it as interesting as I can especially with the fights among other things while working on the Isekai System as I've now added the Achievement feature with more to come. Naruto now has the Hestia Knife as in canon but the Tsumetogi isn't out of the running so no worries there as it will make a comeback. Freya is quite the obsessive which is no different from canon. In response to certain questions, I've finalized the harem list and LOCKED it in with no changes, I'll present parts of the list in the future to conceal certain characters until the right time but the Danmachi characters will be shown later on. Be sure to read and review like always

This is Hussbek from Ghana.

Signing out and staying alive.