Chapter 109: Renovating the Hestia Familia's Base

With Aisha Belka now fully aligned with Loki, the investigation into the Ishtar Familia officially began.

Aisha handled the inquiry within the Pleasure District, while Finn and Riveria took charge of the external investigation.

Meanwhile, Bell quietly worked on setting up protective barriers around the ruins.

Located in one of Orario's more remote corners, the ruins of an old church made for a surprisingly ideal location. Had it not been abandoned, this place could easily have become a frequent gathering spot for locals.

It was simply too well situated—secluded, away from the city's hustle, and quiet.

Settling here was an excellent choice.

Of course, the real selling point was the price.

Surrounded by a stretch of desolate ruins, with a location so remote and reconstruction so impractical, the land value had dropped to near nothing.

The entire area spanned roughly 1,000 square meters, maybe even more, and yet it only cost 50 million Valis to purchase.

To Bell, who had just made a killing selling Rune Stones, that price was nothing short of a bargain.

So he had asked Hephaestus to help him secure the deed with the appropriate divine backing.

But just owning the land wasn't enough—clearing it was another matter entirely.

Thankfully, for Bell, this was also a perfect opportunity to train with Runes.

The stone debris littering the ruins wasn't useless either. Using Runes, Bell broke it down and reconstituted it into pillars to fence off the area.

By midday, the outer perimeter was already done.

"Whew."

Bell wiped the sweat from his forehead, looking over his half-day's effort with a deep sense of satisfaction.

"The outer ring's set."

The rubble inside the territory had all been turned into either paving tiles or materials for the boundary wall and pillars.

Only one section—the ruined church itself—remained untouched, temporarily preserved by Bell.

Obviously, he couldn't get rid of the only shelter available. Otherwise, he and Goddess-sama wouldn't even have a place to sleep tonight.

"Next up is the interior."

Bell had no intention of outsourcing that to the Goibniu Familia. This was their base of operations, and no matter how reputable Goibniu's craftsmen were, involving outsiders was out of the question.

"With my skills, I can only manage something in a forest-style aesthetic."

"Since it's all going to be built using Runes, there's no way it'll match Goibniu-crafted bases in terms of refinement."

Bell was well aware of his artistic limits.

"But just making a place for me and Goddess-sama to live in should be doable."

"If we need more facilities later, we can add them bit by bit."

Then Bell glanced down at the Runic script he'd been drawing almost unconsciously, a little amused.

"Guess repetition really is the best way to get better with Runes."

He turned his focus back to the barrier.

For a Familia headquarters, the surrounding barrier had to be top-tier.

Deceptive properties, offensive wards—they were all necessary.

It would help protect everyone inside and drastically reduce the chances of outside infiltration.

Still, what concerned Bell more was whether potential intruders would even be able to find the Hestia Familia's base in the first place.

After all, he had already added a "Presence Concealment" effect into the barrier's structure.

After all, Bell was building a base meant to be livable and secure, so he arranged everything with safety as the top priority. The outermost layer was naturally a "Presence Concealment" barrier, working in tandem with a "Cognitive Obstruction" barrier. Just having these two barriers made the base nearly impossible to find.

Of course, if someone did manage to stumble in—or even locate it intentionally—the third barrier, "Sensory Confusion," would immediately distort their sense of direction, making it impossible to tell which way to go.

And if the intruder still managed to push forward, the next layers—"Silence" and "Spatial Disruption"—along with the space-killing array would step in to halt them completely.

The barriers Bell deployed were designed entirely to keep people out.

The outer layer's main function was to repel.

But if repelling didn't work, then Bell's next move was simple—elimination.

If they weren't supposed to go out, then they wouldn't go out.

That said, the scale of these barriers was massive. The layers required heavy reinforcement and careful construction, not something that could be finished quickly.

Still, Bell had already secured enough time, so it wasn't a big issue for him.

The Craft Essence "Personal Training" had been a tremendous help. Even "Battle Readiness" could provide experience, allowing Bell to keep improving through daily accumulation and the pursuit of great feats.

Once the basic outer barriers were in place, Bell finally allowed himself to relax a little.

"Whew... The foundation's done. What's next won't be something I can finish in just a day or two."

The interior work was on a whole different scale, so Bell had divided the projects into phases to manage them more efficiently.

Today's goal was to clear the ruins, set up the surrounding barriers, and give Hestia Familia's base a basic layer of protection.

"Haah..."

Bell yawned. His power had grown lately, and so had his stamina, allowing him to stay active longer without sleep.

But even so, he was exhausted.

He'd had to stay sharp for too long recently.

Making Rune Stones didn't demand massive magic power—it drained Bell's mental energy instead.

The process was exhausting over long periods, and although he'd started to memorize the inscriptions and the energy cost had gone down, it wasn't like there was no cost at all.

The energy drain had lessened, not vanished.

And the half-day he'd spent clearing and modifying the base had been far more physically draining than crafting Rune Stones.

Some of the runes were still unfamiliar to him, and repeating tasks he hadn't mastered yet took a lot out of him.

That was why Bell now felt a bit lightheaded.

He rubbed his forehead.

'Next time, I really can't overdo it again.'