Even though Hestia looked really proud just now, Hephaestus wasn't actually angry and felt a bit annoyed.
After all, they had known each other for some time.
Hephaestus also understood that because Bell was talented, Hestia could only brag about him in front of her.
"I don't really have any objections to that, but how exactly did you awaken such an outrageous status?"
"Luck" is considered among the rarest of all.
It might not be so bad if it comes with restrictions, but this is practically the same as defying fate, and even gods cannot change their fate.
'Why is this child so special?'
Hephaestus couldn't understand why Bell, who was supposedly just an ordinary kid from the countryside, could awaken skills and magic that weren't normal at all.
She had spent enough time in the lower world to know that she had never seen a child as unbelievable as this one.
Bell felt rather speechless when asked that question. In fact, he really was just an ordinary human who happened to be lucky enough to travel from another world.
"Hephaestus-sama, I'm not really sure about all this either. I'm just a normal person and don't know how I ended up getting these kinds of skills and magic."
Hephaestus nodded, understanding.
The power of falna from the gods was made to help kids in the lower world grow stronger faster, but people can't choose the blessings they get.
"Hestia, you'd better be careful of Freya. If that woman sets her sights on this child, she's totally the type to try and steal him away.'"
Hestia pouted unhappily and naturally understood this.
Freya was one of the two most powerful gods in Orario. If she liked someone, she'd do anything to make them hers.
That's exactly why Hestia really didn't want to deal with her.
She was, without a doubt, one of the gods Hestia least wanted to deal with directly right now.
"That's exactly why I don't want Freya to find out about Bell at all. That woman is basically a sneaky fox. Bell-kun is still just a child! I won't let someone like her go after him."
As they were talking, Hestia suddenly turned around and hugged Bell tightly, her eyes full of tears, as she stared straight at him.
"Bell-kun, you wouldn't let yourself be seduced by that woman… right?"
Bell felt a lot of pressure being hugged like that. He honestly wished he had some kind of resistance to charm or seduction, but he was just an ordinary person.
"Hestia-sama… the real issue might not be whether I'll be seduced. It's whether that goddess might resort to... physical means."
"She... she probably wouldn't go that far… right?"
Hestia said nervously.
Hestia fell silent for a moment, her gaze drifting over to Hephaestus.
Hephaestus simply shrugged helplessly.
A lot of gods had rules and morals, but Freya... wasn't really one of them. If she set her eyes on a child, she would use any means necessary to take him for herself.
"The other gods might not go that far. They might use something like a 'War Game' if they wanted to steal someone, but Freya isn't the type to sit idly by. She doesn't play by the rules. She always wants them to want to willingly come to her on their own so she often uses extreme methods to get what she wants."
"Ugh..."
Hestia groaned in frustration.
Hestia started to lose her confidence at this point.
Freya was the goddess of beauty.
Even though she wasn't allowed to use godly powers directly, she still had a special ability called a "divine charm" that could make people fall for her just by looking at her.
"Freya is going too far... to think she can freely use her authority in the lower world."
'Authority?'
Bell heard Hestia's angry voice in his ears.
Hephaestus just sighed a little.
"The authority isn't bound by the restrictions of divine power. However, even gods in the lower world can't go too far. If a god uses their divine power beyond a certain extent in the lower world, Ouranus will send them back to the heavens."
"Ugh! Why isn't it forbidden then?"
Hestia grumbled without any manners.
Since they had already decided to come to the lower world, they should not have brought their divine powers with them.
In Hestia's eyes, this kind of behavior seemed no different from cheating.
Hephaestus rolled her eyes at Hestia.
"Do you think all gods are like you? Just because you don't use your authority doesn't mean the other gods have to do the same. Moreover, the reason gods are allowed to use their powers a bit is so they don't just get sent back to the heavens immediately. The authority is the foundation for most gods to establish themselves in the lower world, and even Ouranus can't fully forbid it."
"So, you should keep your kid away from Freya during this time. Freya's Familia members are all Level 5, Level 6, or even 7 adventurers. Moreover, Freya usually only resorts to force when her other plans fail, and simply being seen by her shouldn't cause too much trouble."
Hephaestus knows a little about Freya's personality. She prefers to find out things by herself rather than relying on information.
Therefore, Freya will only take aggressive action if all her other plans have failed. After all, she cares more about winning the child's heart than just having a talented child.
"But still, you need to be careful around that woman. It's best to try not to have any direct contact with her because she definitely won't let go easily if she sees her target."
Hephaestus knew she didn't have the power to protect Hestia's child when facing Freya. Even as a goddess, she knows her limits.
The gods from the heavens would prefer not to confront Freya directly. As a goddess, she's really ruthless when it comes to getting what she wants.
"That said, as long as the child stays quiet and only goes to the dungeon, there's a very low chance of running into Freya. She can see through a person's essence, but she doesn't have the power to lock onto someone without first seeing them. If she doesn't look directly at you with her eyes, she won't easily notice your kid."
There were simply too many children in Orario's lower world, and it was really hard to count them all.
Freya's power only works when she's looking at someone by themselves.
That power to see through a person's essence required her to actually lay eyes on them amidst the crowd in order to lock on. That's why Hephaestus didn't believe it would be easy for Freya to find Bell among all these people.
Hestia fell silent after hearing all this.
However, Bell was the only one who remained visibly nervous as he listened.
It wasn't because of anything specific that had been said but because he knew that Freya had a secret identity.
That secret identity happened to be working in one of the most well-known pubs in all of Orario. It was precisely because of this hidden persona that Freya could continually discover souls that shone brilliantly.
'I hope my soul definitely doesn't shine that bright. I'm sure I'm not the kind of person Freya would be interested in.'
Bell could only try to comfort himself with those words.
The one magic spell and two skills he currently had were either granted by sheer luck after crossing over or came pre-installed with the system—none of them were truly his own.
He has storage and one skill, but they all came from luck and the system, not from anything about him.
So Bell is sure that he doesn't have some shining soul. If anything, his soul might be more like a dark, dull one would probably be more accurate.
After all, the essence of the soul is just a reflection of the true inner self, and Bell didn't see himself as someone with a noble character.
Surely, the essence of his soul couldn't be that brilliant.
Of course, even with all that in mind, Bell never intended to go to that pub where Freya's alternate persona worked.
He really didn't want to cause trouble unless his identity had already been completely exposed.
"That's true."
Hestia agreed.
She was also nervous about Freya because she knew she wasn't good at dealing with her.
Hestia wasn't the type of goddess who was good at talking or manipulation, but Freya was really good at that. She might even accidentally say something she shouldn't without realizing it.
Freya is someone to be wary around, but there was no need to be overly anxious.
Normally, the chances of Bell coming into contact with Freya were still extremely low.
"As long as Bell-kun doesn't attend the Denatus, and as long as his level up to Level 2 isn't too eye-catching, Freya won't pay attention to him."
Bell listened and gave a slight nod. He also believed Freya wouldn't notice him if he didn't level up too fast.
After all, he's not some perfect hero like the original Bell in the original story, so there was no way Freya would be drawn to him because of the brilliance of his soul.
'Even though thinking this way feels like I'm jinxing myself, it's probably fine. There's no way that Freya would take an interest in me and my situation. As long as I play it safe and don't expose too much, I should be able to grow steadily.'
Bell took a deep breath, and the worries in his heart started to feel lighter.
Hestia didn't keep worrying about Freya and instead brought up the real reason they had come.
"Hephaestus, it's fine for our two familias to cooperate from now on, right?"
"Since your child has that kind of status, I'll agree to it."
Hephaestus agreed to Hestia's request for cooperation without even thinking it over. She didn't want Hestia to continue being a useless god and naturally hoped she could properly develop her own Familia.
Since the cooperation Hestia was proposing wasn't one-sided but instead mutually beneficial for both of them, Hephaestus had no reason to refuse.
Suddenly, a slight smile immediately formed at the corner of Hestia's lips.
"Since we're in an alliance now, Hephaestus… could you do me a little favor?"
The moment Hestia said those words, Hephaestus gave her a look that clearly said, "I knew this was coming."
The alliance was part of it, but that was Hestia's real goal all along.
Still, Hephaestus wasn't a demon, and she figured she could at least listen to what the favor was before deciding.
"You can tell me what it is first. But I suggest you think very carefully before you do—if it's too much, I might just throw you out and never talk to you again for good."
"Hehe~ It's actually something really small for someone like you, Hephaestus."
Hestia didn't look worried at all and was still smiling like everything was fine.
However, that expression only made Hephaestus more suspicious. She knew from experience that the more Hestia acted cheerfully and playfully, the more outrageous her favor would probably be.
"Actually, I was hoping you could make a weapon for Bell-kun."
By asking Hephaestus to make the weapon herself, Hestia was basically asking for the most expensive, top-quality weapon possible.
Hephaestus looked at Hestia with annoyance.
At this point, Hephaestus was certain that Hestia's shamelessness wouldn't change no matter how much time passed.