Danmachi: The Multiverse Portal

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—•——•——•——•——•——•—

Hestia's sudden, almost confessional statement left August feeling lost. He had no idea what to do with his hands.

He had never been approached by a Goddess this beautiful before. It left him completely off balance. If it had been a regular girl, August would have turned her down right away and kept his distance. But a Goddess, especially one this bold?

Seeing how flustered he was, Hestia decided to let him off the hook. At least for now.

She flopped back onto the mattress and patted the empty spot next to her. The bed August bought wasn't a cramped cot—it was a large, comfortable double bed. Now, it was officially theirs to share.

"Hurry up! Time for bed!"

"We've had a long day," Hestia said, dropping her teasing and telling him to get some rest.

August just rolled his eyes.

"Are you serious? We just got out of the Dungeon and ran all over the city. I'm covered in sweat and dirt. I'm taking a shower before you mess up my bed."

Only a fool would get into bed smelling like Dungeon ash. He grabbed his clothes and went to the bathroom.

"Oh! Right, of course." Hestia nodded quickly, going along with his very practical excuse.

August figured she was probably imagining something wild. He decided to retreat to the shower and wait for the right moment to strike back.

Outside, the distant sound of city traffic didn't break the heavy, romantic tension in the apartment. The Goddess had made her move.

But this strange, cross-world night was far from over. While the apartment was tense, the city of Orario was still dealing with the aftermath of August's choices.

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

At the very top of the Tower of Babel

Freya stood by the massive glass windows, gazing out over the glittering expanse of Orario. She didn't have to turn around to know Ottar had entered the room.

"You're back early, Ottar."

Wasn't his mission just to issue a small warning to the Hephaestus Familia? He returned much faster than anticipated.

"The mission was a failure," Ottar reported. He didn't offer excuses. He owned the loss.

"August of the Hestia Familia intervened."

Ottar dropped the name of the man who had derailed the operation.

"Oh? That rookie?" Freya blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected Ottar to cross paths with August out in the ruins.

"And what made you back down?" Freya asked, intrigued. There was no way a [Level 1] had intimidated her warlord into retreating.

"Warrior's intuition," Ottar said. "I felt that if I drew my blade, he would have dragged Lady Freya and all of Orario into a sea of fire."

"..." Freya's amused smile vanished.

She stared at her captain. Ottar never exaggerated. If his instincts said August would burn down the city to win, then the boy could really do it.

Freya went quiet, thinking about the threat.

If the rookie could really destroy Babel just to end a fight, she had to let it go. August was Hestia's. As long as he didn't cross her, trying to test him was too dangerous.

"Forget the boy," Freya commanded, pivoting back to her primary obsession: Bell Cranel.

"Captain Tsubaki surrendered the objective," Ottar continued. "But she revealed that Hephaestus had paid a massive fortune for the intelligence regarding the boy's location. Because of August's intervention, I opted to buy them out. The financial negotiations will require your direct involvement, Lady Freya."

Ottar bowed his head. Securing a ransom deal instead of the physical target was a tactical failure on his part.

"Hephaestus paid a massive fortune for the intel?" Freya tapped her chin, piecing the puzzle together.

"Did she buy that intel directly from Hestia's child?"

Everything made sense now...

The whole situation circled back to August.

"My primary target was always Hestia. I never expected her new child to intercept my prize first. Does that boy possess an ability I am blind to?"

Freya smelled a conspiracy. Intelligence like that didn't just fall out of the sky. Hephaestus wasn't exactly known for her sprawling spy networks. If a pristine, heroic soul like Bell Cranel was wandering the streets, some God would have snatched him up. Yet, August—an absolute outsider—was the one dealing the cards.

'There's no way he knows about my Eyes... right?'

Suddenly, she remembered their first meeting at the forge. August had been very cautious around her until he saw that her Soul-sight wasn't interested in him. As soon as she lost interest, he relaxed and went along with things.

"It seems I need to pay much closer attention to Hestia's little pet," Freya murmured to herself.

August clearly knew about her power to see souls. Once he realized she wasn't interested in him, he knew he could work in secret. She wanted to bring him to Babel and question him, but with his strength, it was too risky to push him.

"Furthermore, reports indicate Hestia has officially blessed the boy with Divine Power," Ottar added.

Freya's eyes widened. Hestia was even crazier than she was.

Giving a mortal Divine Power just to get past a language barrier? That took real nerve. Freya only used her power to secretly look at souls. Hestia had basically given her child a cheat skill right in his mind.

"Blessed him?" Ottar was equally stunned. He hadn't heard the tavern rumors yet. A Goddess breaking the seal for a rookie was unheard of.

"Yes. And now every God in the city knows," Freya said with a smirk, already thinking of a new plan.

"The Denatus is coming up soon. That blessing is going to put Hestia right in the hot seat. I'll make sure to attend and get a good look at the boy then."

Freya wanted to know exactly how Hestia had bypassed the Divine Contract to pull off that blessing.

"Understood." Ottar nodded, stepping back into the shadows.

Freya leaned against the glass, her curiosity regarding the outside world burning brighter than ever.

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

Meanwhile, back at the Hephaestus forge.

Tsubaki Collbrande walked into the workshop and instantly spotted two unfamiliar faces.

"Huh? New guys?"

No one joined the Hephaestus Familia to fight. People came to work at the forge or guard weapon shipments. It was rare to see older, experienced Adventurers show up.

"Aris and Ous," Hephaestus introduced them. "Ous lost his legs in the Dungeon. He sought out August, had his limbs fully regenerated, and I decided to bring them into the fold. Boys, greet your Captain."

Aris quickly helped Ous to his feet.

"Captain!" Both men bowed deeply. Staring at a legendary [Level 5] Adventurer in the flesh left them buzzing with adrenaline.

"Right. Welcome to the crew." Tsubaki gave them a casual wave. Since her Goddess approved of them, she wasn't going to give them a hard time.

Hephaestus waved two freshly updated Status sheets in the air.

"Just as I suspected."

"For Adventurers, August's healing magic doesn't just heal wounds. It actually boosts their hidden abilities," Hephaestus said, amazed as she looked at the parchment. "What a miracle of a spell."

"Tsk." Tsubaki clicked her tongue, thoroughly impressed.

Healing wounds and raising stats? That broke the rules of the Falna. Not even Airmid Teasanare, the best healer in Orario, could do something like that.

"Aris and Ous have officially reached [Level 2]," Hephaestus announced.

"We'll need to secure aliases for them at the upcoming Denatus."

Because the two men had built up enough hidden Excelia from surviving tough times, the magic healing pushed them over the edge. Ranking up meant they'd get new names from the Gods.

"By the way, Tsubaki. Didn't I send you to secure the Cranel boy?" Hephaestus asked, noting her Captain's early return. "Where is he?"

"It was a bust." Tsubaki scratched the back of her head. "Ottar showed up."

"I tracked the kid down, but Ottar chased me out of the zone. I wasn't carrying my heavy gear, so I had to run."

Hephaestus sighed. The plan to kidnap the boy was over.

"That ability is such a cheat code," Hephaestus muttered.

She knew exactly how they were found. Freya's Eyes could spot a glowing soul from far away. Tsubaki's soul was probably marked. As soon as she got near the boy, Freya noticed.

"We ran into August and Lady Hestia in the ruins," Tsubaki continued. "We had a standoff."

"Ottar was incredibly wary of August. Because of that tension, I managed to negotiate a buyout. Lady Freya is willing to pay for the intel, but she wants to handle the transaction with you personally."

Tsubaki laid out the terms, frustrated that she couldn't complete the physical extraction.

"It's fine. I expected this." Hephaestus accepted the loss.

There was no way Freya was going to let her walk away with Bell Cranel. That damn Goddess of Beauty. Why couldn't she just share? It wasn't like Hephaestus was going to ruin the boy.

"If they want to buy us out, let them pay," Hephaestus agreed.

The hero was out of reach. And honestly, if she did manage to get him, Freya would probably start a War Game by morning just to take him back. Dealing with Freya's obsession wasn't worth the trouble.

"Oh, right," Tsubaki remembered her conversation in the ruins.

"August wanted to order a massive stockpile of Magic Swords from me. I told him we were booked solid and advised him to buy raw magic spells instead. He bought the idea."

"I really dodged a bullet. If he used that magic backpack to order swords, we'd be working nonstop," Tsubaki said, shuddering at the idea of filling a pocket dimension.

"You made the right call," Hephaestus agreed instantly.

"That kid's pocket dimension is endless. Even if we worked all day and night, we couldn't fill an order for him. Telling him to use raw magic instead saved us," she said.

Hephaestus understood August's plan. Using a pocket dimension to cast magic meant no casting time, no mana drain, and no exhaustion. He could cause chaos with just a thought.

It was a smart battle plan, but making weapons for it would turn her blacksmiths into slaves.

"From now on, any orders from August come straight to me," Hephaestus said, making sure her Captain wouldn't get overwhelmed by his crazy requests.

"Understood, Boss." Tsubaki nodded in relief.

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

At the exact same time, deep within the Azure Pharmacy.

Miach was carefully brewing a fresh batch of healing potions over a low fire.

"Lord Miach. I have the latest intelligence report." Nazaa Erisuis walked into the back room, handing over a tightly rolled parchment.

"Good work, Nazaa," Miach smiled warmly, taking the document.

He unrolled the parchment and read the details. He felt a huge sense of relief.

"Just as I suspected."

"That boy... his capabilities are outstanding."

Miach sighed. He had sent Nazaa to gather information on the Hestia Familia over the last few days. He was suspicious of their sudden rise and wanted real answers.

He wasn't being nosy out of spite. He just wanted to be ready for the trouble he knew was coming.

Tonight, the rumors had exploded: Hestia had used Divine Power to bless her child.

Miach didn't care about the broken rule, but he knew the other Gods would. The next Denatus would be rough. The bored, proud Gods of Orario would question Hestia and demand to know how she broke the Divine Contract. They wouldn't let it go.

Hestia was going to be dragged before the council.

But as Miach read Nazaa's report, he smiled. His secret theory was right. Now he had what he needed to defend his old friend at the Denatus.

"Still..." Miach murmured, shaking his head in disbelief as he read the casualty reports from August's Dungeon dives.

"That kid's firepower is just ridiculous..."

—•——•——•——•——•——•—

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