Chapter 137: Hermes’ Interest (Bonus)

"I can tell you Bell-kun's stats, but I can't talk about his Magic or Skills."

Hermes nodded nonchalantly.

"Just his stats are more than enough."

"If you can't tell me about his Magic or Skills, then what about his Level?"

Hestia paused for a moment, then gave a slight nod. She didn't know what kind of chain reaction revealing this would trigger with Hermes, but it wasn't something she could avoid—Bell's situation was already linked to Zeus and Hera.

"Right now, Bell-kun is Level 2."

"Before he leveled up, all of his stats had already exceeded 1300."

Hestia didn't mention the specifics, but even just that rough estimate was shocking enough.

Hermes tilted his hat down, hiding the astonishment on his face.

'Zeus, this isn't what you meant by 'no talent,' is it?'

It was the second time he found himself silently criticizing that old man Zeus.

According to his intel, the kid had only been an Adventurer for less than a month—barely more than two weeks. Yet in such a short time, he had gone straight from Level 1 to Level 2, accomplishing something most Adventurers in Orario could only dream of. And all of his stats had broken past 1300. That made it even more absurd.

For most Adventurers, the stat cap was 999. Sure, there were rare cases of people who broke past that—especially in ancient times, when some Adventurers who didn't receive Falna managed to do it. But that was in the distant past.

This wasn't ancient history anymore, yet here was a child who not only shattered the 999 limit but raised all of his stats above 1300. His growth rate was terrifying, and the level of power he had accumulated could send even gods into shock.

'If the gods in Orario ever learned about this kid, I doubt any of them could keep their cool.'

'Hestia, I understand now why you hid this child's stats and Skills so carefully.'

That kind of explosive growth had to be tied to a unique Skill. And factoring in the kind of Magic he used, Hermes was certain Bell's "stats" were tied to secrets that couldn't be disclosed lightly.

But Hermes also knew this was not the kind of information that could be leaked to the other gods. If it got out, things would get very messy.

At the same time, though, he saw something in this child—hope. The hope to defeat the Black Dragon, something that until now had seemed utterly impossible.

He'd been in Orario for a long time, but he had never once believed the city was ready to take on the Black Dragon. In his eyes, what Orario lacked was a true hero—someone who could lead the Adventurers forward. With a hero at the front, others would be inspired to push forward as well, finding room to grow and progress.

Until now, Hermes hadn't found anyone in Orario he could genuinely call a "hero." But now… he had found hope.

A smile tugged at Hermes' lips. The dull days were finally over. From here on, things in Orario were about to get interesting.

Hermes rose from the sofa.

"I already know about that child. Next, I'll send the information to Zeus and Hera."

"I'll also take responsibility for keeping it confidential. I won't let a third party learn anything about what I just told you."

No matter what, Hermes had no intention of leaking the child's information. If too many gods found out about him, the result wouldn't be that he slowly grew into a hero of Orario—but rather, a toy passed around in the hands of gods.

That was something Hermes absolutely did not want to see.

"Hestia, until next time."

With those words, Hermes turned and left.

"Excuse me, Hestia-sama, Hephaestus-sama."

Asfi, who had remained still until now, gave a small bow to Hestia and Hephaestus, then turned to follow her Familia God.

...

After the two departed, the room fell silent for a while.

Eventually, Hephaestus spoke up.

"That child's identity is certainly unusual. His background is directly connected to the Zeus and Hera Familias."

Hestia remained quiet for a long time before slowly exhaling.

"Even though I knew Bell-kun's background was special, I didn't expect him to be related to those two Familias as well."

Hephaestus understood how Hestia felt. She stood up and walked to her side.

"Hestia, you don't need to overthink it. That child is your Familia now—that's all that matters."

"Zeus and Hera's Familias are things of the past. His parents may have belonged to them, but that child does not."

Taking a deep breath, Hestia finally began to relax a little.

"Yeah, that child is part of my Familia now."

...

Outside, Hermes was still shaken in his own way.

"In just half a month, he's built up enough stats to reach Level 2. Asfi, what do you think will happen if that gets out?"

"The entire Orario would go absolutely crazy over that news."

"Yeah."

Hermes agreed—every god in Orario would lose their minds if they heard this.

"That's why, from now on, we're sealing off all information about that child."

"The Guild's records are probably already in the hands of other gods. Freya-sama definitely won't let that child go unnoticed."

"With that Goddess of Beauty's personality, she won't make a move until she's sure of things."

Still, Hermes was confident.

'Even if she finds out, the Goddess of Beauty won't act like Ishtar did.'

He wasn't worried about what she might do. But even so, Hermes knew he absolutely couldn't allow the child's information to leak out.

"Asfi, go to the Guild and erase that document."

"...Are you sure that's okay?"

"Yeah. It's just useless info. If the Guild didn't notice anything odd before, they won't notice anything now either."

The Guild still operated the same old-fashioned way it always had. While they recorded every Adventurer's transactions and contract terms, they didn't actually review each one.

Hermes didn't want that child to be exposed—not yet. Right now, he had to control the flow of information.