Chapter 11: 11 – Is it wrong to show off these gains?

By the time Hestia arrived back home, it was already night. The sun had fallen beneath the horizon, and the moon had already taken its place in the sky.

When Hestia arrived at corner leading to the front of the church, a tinge of guilt filled her chest.

Would Bell be worried about her like she was him when he went into the dungeon?

She said that she would be back earlier, but instead she took so long...

Hestia bit her lips and then walked to the iron gates... Only to be greeted by the sight of a man with a bare and muscular torso doing handstand pushups.

"E-Eh?" Hestia was flustered at the sight and she dropped the latch of the iron gate, sending out a loud clang.

That caused the man to pause and then do a flip, landing on his feet. After that, he turned towards the gate, letting Hestia see his features.

A chiseled and heroic face, with just the faint trace of femininity. Beautiful crimson eyes sparkling like rubies. A completely chiseled torso with muscles that could have been carved from stone. And ethereal white hair that looked like wisps of moonlight.

"Oh, there you are, Tia. I was wondering what was keeping you... Was business good today?"

A suave and confident voice, as smooth as butter.

For a brief moment, Hestia wondered if it was a god standing there. Another trying to court her.

...Considering Apollo's attempts back in Heaven, this wasn't too out there.

But this was the first time that Hestia felt like this.

Her body was warm and her face felt hot. At the same time, her heart pounded in her chest, as if it was trying to fly out.

The man blinked and waved his hand. "Hello? Tia? You alright?"

H-He even called her Tia! Such a cute name in such a sexy voice-

Wait. Tia?

Hestia blinked again and then carefully stared at the man, putting her weird reaction aside for the moment.

White hair. Crimson eyes. And that nonchalant manner of speaking as well as the nickname...

Hestia cautiously called out. "Bell?"

"Well, duh. Who else would it- W-Wait! Tia!"

...Huh. That was weird. She could have sworn she was staring at him. Why was the sky suddenly-?

xxx

I sighed and tucked Hestia into bed. "Silly goddess..."

It seemed like she pushed herself too much today. No, probably in these past few days.

I had a feeling Hestia wasn't used to staying up, and she'd been staying up with me for two whole nights already while waking up early in the morning.

"Well... At least it looks like she ate properly."

I glanced at her bag and saw that the sandwich wrappers were in there.

...Maybe her body just wasn't used to proper nutrition and she passed out?

"Mm... I'll need to make her a proper breakfast then."

If that was the case, she definitely needed more food.

But for now...

I considered going to sleep, but my body was practically boiling with energy. If I had to take a guess, I would say it was a side effect of taking too many potions... or maybe because I had improved my physique to the point where I didn't need much sleep?

...Probably the first option.

But that caused a problem. "...I'm not sleepy."

And that meant that I had a lot of time to kill.

I stared out at the sky. Since the moon was still high, there was a long time until morning.

"Mm..." I stared at Hestia's sleeping form and then walked back out into the courtyard. "Might as well keep training."

I pulled my knife out from my inventory and then mentally reviewed the weak-points of the goblins and kobolds.

"...Image training should be just as effective. So..."

I stepped out into the moonlight and focused.

Space seemed to flicker before shadowy figures emerged. Goblins and kobolds.

Not the real thing, of course. I wasn't capable of that.

...Maybe later if I did some more testing or snuck some out, but definitely not now.

No, these were similar to the pen and notebooks I could make. A sort of self-imposed delusion. Imaginary.

But to me, they were real enough to fight.

I recreated the scenario I found myself in the first time in the dungeon and nodded. "Let's go."

xxx

Hestia opened her eyes to the smell of eggs frying on a pan. "Huh?"

For a moment, she was confused. The last thing she remembered was...

'That man!'

Hestia jumped out of the mattress and then ran to the kitchen. And when she did...

"Well. I guess you're hungry after all, aren't you, Tia? Makes sense considering you skipped dinner."

It was the man from yesterday. Giving a roguish smile that felt like it could steal her heart, he casually flipped an omelet around in a skillet.

He was also familiar. And now in daylight, she was sure of it. "Bell. That's you, right?"

The man... No, Bell rolled his eyes and said, "What, am I so different that my dear goddess can't recognize me anymore?"

"Yes." Hestia quickly nodded. "You are." She walked over and stared at him, looking up and down.

Unlike yesterday, he was fully clothed. His old shirt had been tossed on over his top, but it was too small now, clinging to his body and revealing his midriff. His pants were too short as well, more than a few inches too high from his ankles. As for his shoes... the poor things were ripped now, turned into nothing more than makeshift sandals.

"Ah." Bell coughed and said, "I suppose I did have a bit of a growth spurt."

"A bit?!"

Bell was already taller than her, but now he practically loomed over her! In fact, she was fairly certain he was just as tall as Miach now, if not taller, and that natural gigolo was already towering!

Bell shrugged. "Well, I 'am' in my growing phase. I mean, I'm only fifteen, you know?"

"Fifteen?!" Hestia blinked and then let out a deep sigh. "No. I suppose that makes sense. Children do grow a lot in their teenaged years. But..." She turned to look at Bell and said, "How in the world did this happen?"

Was it his skill? That Liar's Phrase did say that growth was determined by his beliefs... So was it that?

No. Even if there was a ridiculous ability that allowed someone to grow so fast, it wouldn't result in 'this'... Would it?

"Ah." Bell nodded and set the omelet aside on a plate before starting to cook another. "That would probably be because I experimented training with potions."

"...Training with potions?"

"Yep." Bell cracked a few eggs into the skillet and said, "The body grows after healing from damage it takes in training, so I thought why not try out using potions to see if that makes it grow faster from healing faster."

Hestia frowned. "That doesn't work though. The potion would just heal all the wounds... Miach told me that."

It came up in a casual conversation one time while she was wondering if she could make a way to get super strong adventurers to advertise her familia more.

"Well, normally it does. But if you dilute it enough, the potion's healing effects actually just jumpstarts the body's normal healing effects." He paused. "Though it also doesn't work if you don't train until your body feels like it's on fire. You really need to reach a certain point of damage first so that it doesn't just erase your work. Found that out the hard way."

Hestia blinked. And then she sighed. "Bell. Has anyone told you how strange you are?"

Honestly, who would even think of such a thing? No, considering what he said... It didn't seem to be easy even if it was simple.

Although the potion would heal the body, if it was to that point, wouldn't he be in constant pain as it healed?

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"More than a few times. But that's what you get for living with story books all your life." He shrugged and then grabbed the omelet. "Now here. Eat up and get ready for work. I'll get started on your lunch in a bit."

...Yep. Same old Bell. Even though he'd become a smoking hot stud, he was still the nonchalant and caring young man that offered to join her Familia.

"Tia?"

"...Nothing, Bell."

xxx

"That was a bit embarrassing, but at least it's sorted out now..." I stared at my reflection in the mirror and nodded.

After Hestia left for work, I went shopping for new clothes.

It was a given, considering I looked like I was wearing kid's clothes after my growth spurt.

Now I had changed up my look a bit.

When I came to Orario, I had a tan coat that Grandpa gave me. It already was a bit too small since it was a gift from a while back, but now the only thing it could serve as was a makeshift cloak.

Still, it was fairly fashionable.

Other than that though, my clothes weren't too sophisticated.

A plain black shirt, a bit loose to be comfortable moving in. Matching pants and a new set of boots... Paired with the knife strapped at my side, I looked like someone fresh off the boat from Final Fantasy or something. A proper JRPG protagonist.

"Huh." I brushed my wispy silver hair.

Before it was a bit of a mess, but now that I had grown a bit, it looked cool instead of dorky.

"I knew you had it in you, Bell." I smiled and stuck my thumb up at my reflection.

"...Bit scary that it only took a day though."

Potions were a heck of a drug. Literally.

Though since I looked like this now, I had a problem. Again.

I glanced over to the cotton tunic I got from the Guild and frowned. "I'll need new armor... And I'll need to get more groceries too." I glanced back at the almost empty pantry and frowned.

I rolled my shoulder and said, "Well... Might as well go talk with Eina."

It was about time I went back to the Dungeon for some refueling.

After locking up, I made my way out into Main street and headed towards the Guild building like usual. But as I passed the commercial district, I felt a gaze on me. A familiar one.

But it was different this time too. I could sense... confusion? Excitement?

Before I could react to that and move away, someone called out to me.

"Sir! Wait, Sir!"

A familiar female voice.

I considered ignoring it, but my gut told me that it would be more trouble than it was worth. So instead, I turned around.

The silver-haired girl in a waitress outfit. Her name was... Syr, if I remembered right.

She smiled at me and said, "I almost didn't recognize you!" She laughed and said, "Did you eat some magic beans and grow overnight or something?"

I laughed back and said, "Or something. I was starting to worry that I'd be a scrawny kid forever... but it looks like I finally got my growth spurt." To emphasize that, I pulled my arm out to flex. A vain display, hoping that it would distract her or turn her off...

But of course, she didn't care. Instead, I could practically see stars forming in her eyes at that.

"Wow!"

I let out an internal sigh and then lowered my arm. "It's nothing much. Apparently fighting in the dungeon's a good workout. Who knew?"

Syr giggled. "You're right! Ah, but then does that mean you're heading back into the Dungeon today, Sir?"

I nodded, deciding it was better to tell the truth. "I am. The name's Bell, by the way." I held out my hand to her.

Syr's eyes widened and she smiled, happily grabbing my hand. "It's nice to meet you properly today, Mister Bell! I'm Syr! And thank you so much for letting me keep the magic stone! It made Mama Mia let me off the hook for skipping dishes the other day."

"I'm glad to hear it. Now, if you'll excuse me..." I turned tried to pull back my hand, preparing to make a quick escape.

But as if she knew, Syr tightened her grip. "Wait! Don't leave yet."

That time I actually sighed. Still, I put on a faint smile and said, "Fine, fine. I'll wait. Wouldn't want a beautiful girl like you to ruin her reputation by chasing me across Orario."

Syr giggled and said, "Well, you'd better not leave then, or I'll have you take responsibility!"

I smiled, taking care not to say anything.

"Be right back!" Syr waved and then dashed off.

As she did, I focused on my surroundings.

"...Strange..."

I was certain that Syr was that goddess, but I could still feel a gaze staring at me. Not only that, but today I didn't sense anything weird from Syr. It was like she was just an ordinary young woman.

"...Did I mistake it last time?"

Maybe it was my paranoia...

Syr seemed nice enough, after all. A bit clingy and definitely crushing on me harder than even Hestia, but that was par for the course for teenaged girls. And since I still felt someone staring at me... Maybe it was a coincidence the first time?

After a few minutes, Syr reemerged, carrying a wrapped purple package. She was also out of breath, although she let out a smile when she saw me. "You didn't run away this time!"

"...You make it sound like I ran away last time."

Syr giggled. "Anyway... Here! A gift for giving me the magic stone last time! An adventurer is nothing on an empty stomach, so have some breakfast on me!"

I blinked. "Er... Thanks?" I grabbed the package and then looked back at Syr. "But are you sure?"

Since she was only gone for a brief period of time, it was definitely pre-prepared. And from the cloth... Was she making it every day waiting for me? No, girls like to wrap their food in their favorite colors, so was this her breakfast?

"Mmhm! But if it makes you feel better, you can come eat at my workplace to pay me back tonight!"

"Ah..." I frowned. "That'll be a problem though. I'm in charge of dinner for my Familia, so that won't work."

"O-Oh." Syr looked upset... but then her eyes lit up. "Well, why don't you come for lunch then? Or just whenever you're free?" Saying that, she fidgeted with her hands.

Seeing her trying so hard, I sighed and said, "Alright. I'll swing by to grab lunch later. Probably not today, since I really need to go do things, but I'll remember to go visit tomorrow."

"Great!" Syr smiled and said, "It's called the Hostess of Fertility, right over there!" She pointed to a café on the opposite side of the street and said, "See it?"

"I do."

"In that case..." She let go of my hand and smiled. "I'll be waiting for your visit, Mister Bell!"

After a small wave, Syr ran back across the street and into the building.

And the moment she did, I felt that sharp gaze from somewhere up above, as if trying to peer into my very soul.

Alright. So maybe it wasn't Syr after all. A jealous god, perhaps?

Whatever the case, I pretended not to notice it and kept walking.

...Hopefully it would be fine. If not... Well, hopefully I could grind my stats and get famous enough for it to be a non-issue.

It'd be a shame to see Orario lit up like the fourth of July. Though I guess it'd be a pretty sight to show Tia...

Which reminded me. I should take Tia out on a date sometime. She clearly liked me, and I liked spending time with her. Plus, we were already living together like a couple, so we might as well try it out?

Wait. Could a goddess even date a mortal? There weren't any laws *against* that, but I didn't hear about any married goddess/mortal couples either. 

...Let's delay that a little bit. Gotta make a name for myself first.

Now, off to the dungeon!

...After checking in with Eina. Didn't want to get an earful later when she found out I went in without letting her know...

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