Chapter 2.

It seems my initial guess was correct. This is the world of Danmachi, with gods coming down from heaven to enjoy life with mortals. There is also the dungeon, which, to be honest, is the only thing I am excited about. What sort of new things would I witness there, and would I actually be excited to give my all toward something?

Smack Grrr

Ugh, okay, I admit I was getting ahead of myself, but you should not hit my face so hard.

Smack Grrr

Got you! Chomp Whimper

Oww, it seems I can't win against this devil thing attached to me. Why can't I control it, though? Mother and Father seem to be able to control theirs with ease. It seems the control comes with age and experience. Still, it's kinda boring just sitting like this. Father had just left this morning for Orario and will take at least a week of just traveling. So a month at the least. Well, it can't be helped; it seems to be some sort of final quest before quitting adventuring.

"What happened, Arc? Did you bite your own tail again? How many times have I told you not to do that?"

Mother seemed to be kind of down when Father left but seems to be back in a happy mood. It seems she is looking forward to meeting her familia members again after a long time. Well, she does think of her goddess as her second mother, and it must have been a hard decision for her to leave the familia for love. Still, if her goddess is coming to visit with her whole familia, then I guess their relationship isn't broken yet.

"If everybody sees you fighting your own tail, they will think you are just a silly kitten."

My dear mother seems to have a grudge against cat people or something. Still, I am not the one who starts it, so take that, you devil.

Smack Grrr

Goddammit.

"Hehehe, still, if you look cute enough, they would ignore everything else. Now let's go; it seems they are here."

Dear mother of mine, on account of you being my mother, I forgive your betrayal against me by not helping me deal with this devil. Still, you best watch out for your own tail, though—I might just mistake it for mine in my sleep. Still, I am quite honestly looking forward to meeting another goddess too.

POV Change

In the forest near the village where Arcas and her family live, a group composed entirely of women were making their way toward the village. Leading them was a woman exuding divine aura—a goddess. She had long blue hair with green eyes. She also carried with her a bow and a quiver of arrows on her back. She was wearing a white and blue outfit with a belt at her waist that holstered a knife. Behind her was a red-haired girl with reddish-brown eyes. She exuded a serious demeanor that did not suit a girl of her age. Alongside her was an elf with white hair and green eyes.

"Captain Iphigenia, did elder sister Callisto really give birth to a child?" the red-haired girl asked the elf, now identified as Iphigenia, beside her.

"Yes, Rethusa. You now have a younger sibling to play with. Isn't that nice?"

Hearing the confirmation from her captain left Rethusa feeling quite uncomfortable. While she would more than love to play with this new sibling of hers, she didn't know if her goddess would like that.

"There is no need for you to ask my permission or consider my opinion when meeting Callisto. Everything she did was of her own will, and I fully supported her decision. Remember, my duty is to protect and shield you young girls from the cruelty of the world until you are mature and experienced enough to make informed, life-changing decisions. If you find your true love and he is worthy enough to protect you in my place, then you can live the rest of your life with him."

Artemis, the goddess of this familia, said this to her familia members, who only consisted of young women of different races.

"But Goddess, there are very few men in this world who can pass your 'test,'" one of the young women proclaimed loudly, followed by many others who also started to protest the same issue.

"Enough! If Callisto can find someone worthy of her, then why can't you do the same, huh?" Artemis instantly dismissed their protest with a great point.

"It was just pure luck," everyone said in a whisper.

"What? Say that again." Artemis asked loudly.

"Come on, Lady Artemis, everyone is tired from the journey. That's why they are making such an uproar. Come on, we are almost there, everyone. Let's not have Callisto hear our bickering; otherwise, she might think without her we are a complete mess."

Iphigenia expertly calmed the whole group immediately with her words, as if she had done this enough times over the past few months.

"I think she might have already heard us coming with how much noise we made," Rethusa said, knowing how strong her former captain's senses were from all the times she was caught training late at night.

"No worries, even if she did hear us. I just want to know if she was being lazy after leaving the familia and not keeping up with basic training."

Artemis said this, slowly starting to increase her pace to reach her child and see how she was doing.

After hearing this, everyone else could only shake their heads and pray that their former captain did not return to her former lazy self after stopping adventuring for a while.

"Still, is the baby a boy or a girl? And if it's a girl, would she join our familia?" Rethusa asked, looking toward Iphigenia.

"We don't know that yet. Callisto didn't write anything about the gender of the baby—said it's a secret," Iphigenia replied, looking forward to meeting her friend's child.

"We are here, everyone," Artemis said, looking toward the distant image of Callisto and the baby after coming out of the forest.