Chapter 17: The Hostess of Fertility
Hestia ultimately decided not to form an alliance with the Hephaestus Familia right away.
After all, the current Hestia Familia was still far too weak. Even with Shirou now part of their ranks, they lacked the strength or qualifications to forge an alliance with a powerful Familia.
Rather than indulge in unrealistic fantasies, it was more prudent to keep the fact that Bell possessed the unique skill [Liaris Freese] strictly hidden, ensuring that no one from other Familias would discover this.
Because of this, Hestia not only asked Shirou to keep it a secret but also refrained from telling Bell about the unusual speed of his own growth—leading him to believe that he was improving at a normal pace.
Hestia understood Bell's personality well. She knew that this honest and sincere child would never lie. If someone asked him a question, he'd answer it directly without hesitation.
If he knew about the skill and someone asked him about it, it was 100% certain he'd accidentally reveal everything the next day.
As for Hestia's cautious approach, Shirou neither agreed nor objected.
While he felt Hestia's worries weren't without reason, he didn't think things needed to be taken so far. Even if the information got out, he believed it wouldn't have much of an impact.
Still, since Hestia had already made her decision, Shirou didn't raise any objections.
Meanwhile, because of Hestia's concealment, Bell remained completely unaware of anything unusual about himself.
He didn't dwell on it. He simply believed that all his rapid improvement was thanks to Shirou's teachings in combat.
That day, Bell once again eagerly approached Shirou to ask for advice about dungeon combat techniques.
In response to Bell's request, Shirou offered some tips based on his prior explorations of the dungeon, explaining different strategies to use against different types of monsters.
Bell listened with deep interest and was visibly moved by the explanations, his face lighting up with excitement. He couldn't wait to go back into the dungeon and test what he had learned.
After this exchange, Hestia, standing beside them, smiled brightly and spoke up:
"We've finally healed Shirou today, and we even have a bit of money left after the treatment. Why don't we go out and have a nice meal to celebrate?!"
To Hestia, this wasn't just a celebration of Shirou's recovery, but also a signal that the Hestia Familia was about to set sail toward a brighter future.
With the already powerful Shirou and the uniquely gifted Bell, the future of Hestia Familia looked promising.
Naturally, neither Shirou nor Bell had any reason to refuse Hestia's suggestion.
The three of them soon set out in the direction of the commercial district.
At night, the commercial streets were much quieter than during the day. In contrast, many taverns were brightly lit and bustling with activity.
After all, while adventurers typically didn't delve into the dungeon late at night, those returning from their adventures often gathered at taverns to celebrate, recuperate, and prepare for their next excursion.
Hestia led the way, searching for a suitable tavern, and soon found one that looked quite promising.
"Let's go with this one."
The tavern Hestia selected was an especially lively establishment. Like other buildings in the area, it was built of stone—but its size was notably different. Among all the taverns nearby, this might well have been the largest.
Hanging above the entrance was a sign that read: "Hostess of Fertility."
"Isn't this place going to be really expensive?" Bell hesitated, not daring to step inside.
What made him uneasy was that most of the patrons inside appeared to be powerful adventurers.
He hardly saw any low-level adventurers like himself, especially not fellow Level 1s. This made him shrink back, overwhelmed by the intimidating atmosphere.
"What are you afraid of, Bell!" Hestia declared confidently. "Someday, we'll be the kind of strong Familia that comes here to celebrate all the time. So we have to start getting used to it now!"
"I… okay." Bell nodded and instinctively moved closer to Shirou.
There was no helping it. As a Level 1 adventurer, Bell truly didn't feel comfortable in a place like this. He could only feel at ease by staying close to the powerful Shirou.
Shirou didn't mind in the slightest. He silently stepped into the tavern—and the first person he noticed was a burly dwarven woman standing behind the counter.
Although she looked like just an ordinary tavern owner, Shirou inexplicably sensed an extraordinary aura from her, one that rivaled the presence of the strongest dungeon bosses he had ever fought.
"Welcome!"
As the group entered the tavern, the female staff members cheerfully greeted them.
With just one glance, Shirou realized that all the staff in this tavern were women—there wasn't a single male employee.
It was a fitting match for the tavern's name, "Hostess of Fertility."
Moreover, the staff came from various races: humans, beastkin, and even elves.
Aside from the owner, all the waitresses were also notably attractive—each one a beautiful young woman that could easily catch anyone's eye.
Faced with such a setting, Bell couldn't help but gulp audibly.
It wasn't that he was blinded by beauty, but rather, he simply had no immunity to such things. In fact, just seeing a pretty girl would make his heart race and his face flush, causing him to lose all rational thought.
Shirou, on the other hand, remained calm.
Perhaps the old Shirou would've reacted like Bell—but now, after experiencing so much, he was far beyond being swayed by appearances.
As the trio were still looking around the tavern, one of the waitresses approached them.
She was a human girl dressed in a white blouse and a green vest-skirt, with short gray hair tied into a ponytail. Her eyes matched her hair color and carried an innocent, cute look.
"May I take your order… Huh?"
At first, the waitress was just doing her job. But when she saw Shirou—especially his face—she briefly showed a look of surprise.
However, the look passed in a flash, and she quickly returned to her professional demeanor.
Since Shirou had no particular preferences and Bell was already so overwhelmed by the tavern's atmosphere that he had curled up into himself, the task of ordering naturally fell to Hestia.
Hestia didn't hold back in the slightest. Without a shred of frugality, she ordered several expensive dishes, spending several thousand valis in one go.
"Right this way, please."
After taking their order, the gray-haired waitress led them to a table and then walked off with light steps.
And so, the three of them waited for their food to arrive.
Hestia looked around like an excited child, eagerly anticipating the delicious meal.
Bell kept his head down the entire time, shivering like a frightened rabbit and not saying a word.
Only Shirou remained completely calm. But he couldn't shake the odd feeling that the tavern's owner and waitresses were occasionally glancing at him—yet he couldn't think of any reason why they would be interested in him.
While Shirou was lost in thought, the tavern's door suddenly opened, and a group of adventurers entered.
At first, Shirou didn't pay them any mind—until he unexpectedly spotted a familiar face among them.
It was the red-haired goddess Loki, and the blonde swordswoman Ais Wallenstein, known as the Sword Princess.
There was no doubt—this was a team-building gathering for the Loki Familia, and today happened to be the day they were out celebrating together at the tavern.