Chapter 32: Chapter 32
"Kiriya, you did great," Hestia said happily, already thinking about what kind of reward she should give her great contributor once they returned.
’Hm, I heard lap pillows are pretty nice. Boys seem to like that sort of thing.’
Hestia was muttering inwardly and preparing to leave when, after only a few steps, she realized something was wrong.
The sky...had darkened!
"Wah! What’s going on? What are you all doing?"
When she looked up, Hestia was startled by the sight in front of her.
A dense crowd of gods had surrounded her from every direction, packed so tightly that not even water could get through.
Every one of them had eyes shining like searchlights, and the way they stared at her was frighteningly direct.
"Now then, Hestia, at this point, you should tell us the truth, shouldn’t you? What level is your child really?" a goddess asked, rubbing her hands together with a grin that gave Hestia goosebumps.
"Exactly, Hestia. The War Game is already over. There’s no need to hide it anymore, right?" the other gods chimed in.
"Fine, fine, I get it," Hestia said helplessly.
Then, in a voice so quiet it was almost inaudible, she said, "He’s Lv. 2."
"Buzz—"
Although Hestia’s voice was very soft, the gods still heard her clearly.
The meeting hall exploded at once!
"Lv. 2? He really is only Lv. 2?"
"That’s unbelievable. With that level of power, even if you told me he was Lv. 3, I would believe it."
"Exactly, exactly!"
The gods spoke all at once, their faces full of excitement and disbelief.
"Is that really the important part?" Loki suddenly sighed. "I specifically asked around. That boy officially registered as an adventurer ten days ago. He had only just received his Falna 10 days ago."
The moment she said that, every god went silent.
It was like someone had pressed pause on a video.
All eyes turned toward Hestia at once.
The way they looked at her made it seem as though they wanted to eat her alive.
"Hestia, how about transferring your child to me? We can discuss the price. If there’s anyone in my Familia you like, just choose!"
"Pah! Who would want the rejects in your Familia? Hestia, why not come look at mine? My Familia is full of adorable girls!"
"Hestia, if you’re willing to transfer that child to me, I’ll give you the thousands of books in my collection. They’re all one-of-a-kind copies."
"You can enjoy all the food in my house whenever you want!"
The gods offered all kinds of generous conditions, but their goal was the same.
They wanted Kiriya to convert and become their Familia member.
Hephaestus watched them and shook her head with a sigh.
"They really are going crazy."
"Well, it’s not surprising," Loki said, narrowing her eyes and rubbing her chin. "That’s a super genius who went from Lv. 1 to Lv. 2 in ten days. Even my Ais-tan didn’t manage that. Forget them, even I’m tempted to snatch him."
"You’d better not think like that," Hephaestus said, glancing at her. "That child from Hestia’s Familia clearly has a strong will of his own. If you make an enemy of him because of this, things could get ugly."
Loki snorted and was just about to say, "So what?" when Hestia suddenly exploded.
"All of you shut up!"
Her voice was so loud it immediately drowned out the gods’ muttering.
Although Hestia was the shortest god present, her aura at this moment was the strongest.
"What do you think your children are? Merchandise? In any case, Kiriya is mine, and none of you are allowed to get any funny ideas. If you want outstanding children, go find them yourselves!"
"Don’t be like that, Hestia..." one god still tried to continue pestering her, only for an incredibly soft and seductive voice to interrupt.
"That’s enough. Hestia has already made herself very clear. Let’s not force her."
"Freya?" Hestia froze.
A goddess walked toward them.
She had silver hair and silver eyes, skin as pale as snow, and an intoxicating flush on her face.
Her perfectly proportioned, graceful figure was wrapped in a flame-like gorgeous dress, making her so beautiful it was hard to breathe.
This was the embodiment of beauty.
The goddess who governed love and beauty—
Freya.
At the sight of her, the other gods were overjoyed.
"It’s Lady Freya!"
"Good day, Lady Freya."
"Lady Freya is as beautiful as ever."
"What kind of nonsense is that? When has Lady Freya ever not been beautiful?"
"Hello, everyone," Freya said.
Her voice was like pearls falling onto jade, clear and pleasant to the ear.
The male gods all revealed intoxicated expressions, as if they were hearing heavenly music.
For a time, the male gods transformed into the most loyal of worshippers, praising Freya in every way they could think of.
The goddesses also focused their attention on Freya, though their emotions varied—jealousy, dissatisfaction, cold smiles, and more.
But without question, ninety-nine point nine-nine-nine percent of all eyes present were fixed on this goddess of beauty.
Hestia, meanwhile, had been completely ignored.
But Hestia was not unhappy at all.
She wished these people would forget about her entirely so no one would keep trying to steal her Kiriya.
Since the chance was rare, Hestia did not even have time to say goodbye to Hephaestus before deciding to leave.
But before she could get out, Freya called out to her.
"My, Hestia, you can’t leave yet."
Hestia flinched, then looked at Freya with eyes full of vigilance.
"What do you want? Let me say this first. I absolutely will not give Kiriya to you. Absolutely not!"
"Hehe, you’re overthinking it."
Freya covered her mouth and laughed, and that fleeting charm left the surrounding male gods utterly enchanted.
"What I mean is, since everyone is here, why not decide your child’s alias?"
"I see. We still have that part."
The gods immediately grew excited. Mention this, and they were no longer sleepy at all.
When it came to teasing—cough, cough—bestowing aliases, it had to be left to these learned and talented gods.
"In my opinion, how about ’Sword of Lightning’? Look at that young man’s thunderous strike. So dazzling!"
"What? ’Fist King’ would be better. Didn’t you see how strong his hand-to-hand combat is?"
"Neither is suitable. His best ability is clearly that magic, right? He instantly summoned a forest to bind his enemies. He should be called ’Forest of a Thousand Hands.’"
"I think ’Fastest Man Alive’ works. After all, he’s the fastest adventurer to level up in history."
"Hey, who are you taking a jab at with that?"
The gods immediately began arguing, and the meeting hall became noisier than a marketplace.
"Hey, what about my opinion?"
Hestia had black lines all over her forehead.
These people had not considered the opinion of his patron goddess at all.
"Ahem. Regarding his alias, I do have an idea."
The moment Freya spoke softly, the entire hall fell silent.
Under everyone’s gaze, Freya spoke calmly.
"How about ’War Demon of the Forest’ (Sylvan)?"
"Oh, that’s pretty good!"
Needless to say, the male gods only needed to wave their flags and cheer for Freya.
Even the goddesses thought it was fairly fitting.
Kiriya had magic that could summon forests with a wave of his hand, overwhelming combat ability, and a battle style as fierce as a demon.
The name "War Demon of the Forest" suited him quite well.
"It sounds scary, like some ugly monster!" Hestia protested.
But because she was alone and outnumbered, everyone magnificently ignored her.
And so, Kiriya’s alias was officially decided.
...
The gods dispersed one after another.
They had watched an exciting duel today and had even helped decide the alias of the rookie king.
It could be said that they had gained quite a lot.
"Hestia, your luck really is good. You found yourself an exceptionally outstanding child."
Freya stayed until the end and spoke to Hestia.
"So you really are interested in my child," Hestia said warily.
"Relax. I don’t plan to take him from you."
Freya smiled.
’At least, not right now.’
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