Chapter 142: A Chance Encounter of Topics

After completing his training and accumulating experience, Bell didn't proceed to the eleventh floor. Instead, he chose to leave the Dungeon.

He understood the meaning of 'too much of a good thing.'

Having spent almost the entire day in the Dungeon, Bell knew he needed to return to the surface to reset himself.

With "Presence Concealment" active, he didn't emerge until evening.

'There are a lot more eyes on me than usual. Looks like recent events have stirred a lot of nerves.'

He knew exactly why.

The incident with the Ishtar Familia the day before, combined with the involvement of the Evilus, had clearly agitated many gods.

From what Bell knew, the Ganesha Familia had increased internal patrols in Orario and were actively hunting down remnants of the Evilus.

But even if those remnants were still hiding in Orario, they wouldn't dare show themselves now—unless they had a death wish.

'Looks like I'll need to be extra cautious when going out from now on.'

Bell didn't let the fact that he could use Runic Letters go to his head. He knew better than to underestimate any Adventurer. If he did, he'd only have himself to blame when things went south.

As usual, he deliberately avoided attention and made his way back to the base at a steady pace.

After winding through several alleys, he passed through the outer mist and entered the base.

"Hm?"

He paused at the entrance, nostrils twitching slightly.

"That's Hephaestus-sama's scent… and two others I don't recognize."

"One's female. The other… probably male."

It had been a while, so Bell wasn't entirely sure about the second scent.

'Did Goddess-sama bring in other gods?'

He kept the thought in mind and entered the building.

No sound came from below.

Maybe once upon a time he could have heard something from upstairs, but Bell had recently made special modifications to the basement. The space was now completely isolated from the outside world and shielded against detection.

When it came to caution, Bell didn't cut corners.

He opened the door to the basement and headed down.

Once inside the subterranean space, the soundproofing no longer applied, and Hephaestus-sama's voice, along with Goddess-sama's, reached his ears.

But their conversation made him freeze for a moment.

"I never expected my Bell-kun to have a connection to Zeus and Hera."

The voice was unmistakably that of Goddess-sama.

But the topic left Bell puzzled.

'How does Goddess-sama know about that?'

Of course, Bell was well aware of Zeus.

But why would Goddess-sama be discussing this with Hephaestus-sama?

'Could it be those two scents from earlier?'

Bell's eyes narrowed slightly. If so, then he knew exactly who those two visitors were.

'God Hermes… and the Hermes Familia's captain, Asfi Al Andromeda.'

'But even Hermes wouldn't just casually hand that kind of information over to Goddess-sama, right?'

Bell knew that mischievous god's nature well. If it was something he could talk about, Hermes wouldn't keep it secret for long.

But Bell's connection to the Zeus Familia wasn't something to be casually revealed.

He was sure of it—Hermes wouldn't spill something like that so easily.

'So how did Goddess-sama find out?'

The situation left Bell genuinely confused.

He shook his head slightly, still unsure why Hermes would have done something like that.

Either way, he'd need to keep a closer eye on Hermes from now on—along with Asfi Al Andromeda.

After grasping the situation inside, Bell waited outside for a while before gently knocking on the door.

There was a commotion inside the room. Once the noise finally quieted down, he cautiously pushed the door open.

"Goddess-sama, I'm back."

The sudden intrusion had startled both Hestia and Hephaestus, but they recovered quickly.

"Hephaestus-sama, hello."

"Bell-kun, when did you get back?"

Hestia instinctively recalled what she had just said to Hephaestus. Bell clearly understood what she meant too, so he didn't bother hiding anything.

"Just now."

"After I came out of the Dungeon, I noticed the stares around me had gotten much more intense. I figured the chaos caused by the Evilus and Ishtar Familia stirred things up, so I rushed back."

Bell wasn't the type to just wait around for trouble—he preferred facing things head-on.

"By the way, Goddess-sama, were you and Hephaestus-sama just talking about me? I overheard something about my connection to Zeus and Hera while I was at the door."

That left both Hestia and Hephaestus speechless.

In Orario, it was best not to talk too openly about such things—especially connections to exiled Familias. That kind of information could easily stir up serious issues.

Neither of them had any grudges against Zeus or Hera, of course, but what about other gods?

The two goddesses exchanged a glance and, seeing the worry in each other's eyes, silently agreed to drop the topic.

"We were just chatting about the past, that's all."

"Besides, if Bell-kun really had ties to Zeus and Hera, he wouldn't have ended up in my Familia."

Realizing they were shifting the topic, Bell instinctively looked at Hephaestus, then went along with it.

"Speaking of which, Goddess-sama, could you help me update my 'Status'? It's been three days since the last time."

"Oh!"

Hestia immediately thought of the 'Status' and realized it really had been three days since Bell's last update.

She knew Bell had been busy lately, but she had no idea how much his 'Status' had progressed. That thought made her quite curious.

"You haven't updated it in three days?"

Hephaestus looked at the two of them, a bit surprised.

If she were Bell's Familia God, she'd update his 'Status' daily. His growth was just too rapid—checking it every day would help her avoid being caught off guard by sudden leaps in ability.

"There's just been too much going on."

"After the whole Ishtar situation, Bell's been preparing to join Loki's expedition team. He's making his final preparations now."

"Oh..."

Hephaestus gave Bell a sideways glance, surprised that this kid was actually planning to join an expedition team.

...

(100 Chapters Ahead)

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