Hestia deliberately puffed out her proud cotton candy chest and retorted loudly,
"Ha? I've also met many lovely children! I'm waiting for them to return from their adventure right now!"
"I didn't expect the rumors about those children being tricked and swindled by you to be true. I truly feel sorry for them!"
"I'm the one who feels sorry for the children in your Familia, after all, they're stuck with a troublesome Main God like you!"
The tension between the two goddesses grew thicker, and they started bickering again.
Rod, standing nearby, not only didn't stop them but watched with interest.
"Aren't you going to stop them?"
Riveria, who had walked up to Rod, tilted her head with a slight smile.
Her emerald-green hair slid from her slender shoulders, gently fluttering in the evening breeze, brushing against Rod's fingertips.
A faint, natural fragrance, like that of nature, filled the air.
Brother Rhode paused, feeling inexplicably guilty.
After all, for him, he had just given her a good beating...
"Cough, cough, no matter how much they mess around, they won't be able to punch out a Divine Will."
"These two always start arguing like there's no one else around whenever they meet. Maybe they're the true lovers, and their Familia is just a side effect."
"But what about you? Why don't you rein in your Goddess?"
A playful look flashed in Riveria's eyes, and her elven ears twitched slightly.
"Loki is about to finish the Soma wine you gave her last time, and she's been getting a bit unruly these past few days. It's a good thing Goddess Hestia is teaching her a lesson."
Brother Rhode's eyes lit up.
So, another sucker is about to send money?
Just then, Riveria suddenly asked out of the blue.
"I heard your Familia recruited quite a few cute girls this time?"
.....
For some reason, Brother Rhode felt even more guilty than before.
"Uh... actually, I just saw their potential. You know, I've always been a pragmatist!"
Riveria, like a madam, lightly stroked the tips of her green hair, letting out a soft, cute hum.
She didn't say she believed him, nor did she say she didn't.
Brother Rhode suppressed the uncooperative thumping of his heart and couldn't help but mutter to himself.
This "old hag" is truly more charming than most elves.....
Especially after raising a "daughter," the maternal aura she unconsciously exuded made him completely powerless.
Thinking about it carefully, he remembered that in the original timeline, she seemed to have said that if it had been about ten years earlier, perhaps she would have wanted to fall in love.
So, this current stage is probably about right.
The two Goddesses were wrestling not far away, while Brother Rhode was contemplating how to abduct the Elven Princess.
After an unknown amount of time.
The long-awaited person finally appeared.
Brother Rhode was stunned when he saw the group in front of him.
Alfia and Metria, who had changed their appearance using magic, Ryu, Ais, Amid, and A Di.
Good heavens, did some monster break a heavenly rule?
When A Di saw Brother Rhode, her sky-blue eyes immediately lit up.
She immediately let go of "old love" Ryu's arm, jumped in front of Brother Rhode, and introduced herself cheerfully, extending her right hand.
"Long time no see, Rhode! It's A Di Farma, who wants to be your friend today! Ta-da!"
The energetic girl's face showed a bright, clear smile.
If Alise had the vibrant brightness of an active sun, then A Di was enveloped in the steady calm of a spring breeze.
Even her bell-like voice revealed an innate gentleness.
This could also be considered Ryu's "white moonlight."
Brother Rhode, with a subtle feeling, shook hands with the adorable girl in front of him.
"If it's a kind and cute girl like A Di, I'd be very happy to be friends."
Hmm, as for what kind of friends, don't ask for details.
Stare—
In an instant, all the girls present fixed their unfriendly gazes on Brother Rhode.
...
No, it's one thing for an ominous aura to come from Riveria, but Amid, why are you looking at me with that kind of gaze too!
Brother Rhode glared back fiercely.
Amid came to her senses and smiled apologetically.
"Oh, everyone else was doing it, so I subconsciously followed suit."
"But, Brother Rhode is really charming."
She was wearing a pure white cassock, and her long silver hair and mysterious purple eyes made her look like an exquisite and beautiful doll.
Everyone believed she would become a beautiful woman in the future.
But that was probably a topic for the distant future.
For now, her height of less than 1.2 meters could easily be mistaken for a young girl, no, even a Pallum, which wouldn't be surprising.
Even if she desperately stood on tiptoes, the beloved silver staff in her hand was disproportionate to her petite body.
No matter how she tried to act nonchalant, it would still make people laugh. She was a currently immature [Saintess].
Amid's words successfully broke the somewhat delicate atmosphere.
Brother Rhode took the opportunity to release her hand, his gaze shifting between Amid and Ais.
One blonde loli, one silver-haired loli, they somehow matched well.
Tsk tsk, I think both of you are destined to be with me.
"Speaking of which, which of you two is taller now?"
Ais blinked her clear eyes and raised her hand somewhat childishly.
"I'm taller than her."
Amid whimpered, quickly looked at Brother Rhode, puffed out her cheeks, and emphasized.
"I'm already a seasoned twelve-year-old child, no, a lady!"
"I'm expected to grow tall in a whoosh in another seven years!"
"Absolutely! Definitely! For sure!"
Brother Rhode thought for a moment.
How tall was Amid seven years later?
She seemed to be less than 1.5 meters... while Ais would already be 1.6 meters by then.
Thinking of this, Brother Rhode cast a sympathetic look at Amid.
Is this what they call a healer who cannot heal herself?
He bent down and, despite Amid's strong protests, ruffled her head.
"It's okay, being small is also very cute~"
Brother Rhode's heart suddenly stirred, and a devilish smile appeared on his face.
"Actually, there's a way if you want to grow taller."
Although Amid said she didn't care, her ears had already secretly perked up.
Ais, beside her, still looked expressionless, but her serious expression clearly indicated she was also eavesdropping.
"But, this is a secret passed down through generations of the Hestia Familia, only for our own people."
Riveria, seeing that Brother Rhode was actually trying to abduct the lifeline of the Dian Cecht Familia, commented helplessly.
"A Familia that's only been established for a few days, where did 'passed down through generations' come from?"
Amid also nodded vigorously, glaring at Brother Rhode disdainfully.
"Don't think I'm easy to fool just because I'm young, I'm very smart!"
Brother Rhode didn't explain, but continued to smile and ask.
"In Orario today, there's a healer who is slightly less talented than you, but the same age. Do you know her?"
Amid shook her head blankly.
"Is there really such a person?"
Although Amid seemed a bit naive, she had a clear understanding of her own talent in the field of healing.
Riveria also frowned slightly, thinking for a long time but couldn't recall such a person.
Wait... the same age?
She suddenly remembered the information Finn had mentioned earlier and glanced at Brother Rhode.
"You're not talking about that child in the Freya Familia, are you? But I remember she only recently became a healer, and we've only just started paying attention to her."
"Sometimes I really wonder, where do you get all your information from?"
As direct rivals, the Loki Familia naturally paid close attention to information about the Freya Familia.
However, Finn had only vaguely judged the other party's value through many details combined with intuition, and he only treated her as a regular healer.
After all, that child spent every day healing those madmen on the battlefields, so basically, outsiders didn't even know of her existence, let alone her specific talents.
Yet Brother Rhode, who had only recently arrived in Orario, directly identified her and was certain that she possessed talent second only to Amid.
It was almost as if he had seen the future... which greatly perplexed Riveria.
Brother Rhode, of course, wouldn't say that he had read the script.
In contrast to Amid, who was known as the [Silver Saintess], the other party was Heith, who would be known as the [Golden Witch] in the future.
At this stage, she should have just recently withdrawn from the "baptism," believing she had no talent and choosing to become a healer, only to unexpectedly display healing talent.
To be honest, if it weren't for the fact that taking people from the Freya Familia would only lead to a War Game, he would have already found a way to abduct Heith.
As for the Freya Familia's pathological fanaticism towards her, Brother Rhode wasn't worried.
His subordinates were also absolutely loyal to him.
Moreover, he wasn't without other beautiful Goddesses by his side now.
Of course, with Regina's addition, a War Game now could also result in victory.
But for Brother Rhode, it didn't mean much.
Out of the entire Freya Familia, he could only count on one hand the number of people he valued and considered taking in.
And the War Game with the Freya Familia was a great undertaking he reserved for the nascent Hestia Familia.
Brother Rhode looked at Amid, who was still looking bewildered, and showed a serious expression.
"Your healing effectiveness and range are indeed stronger than hers, but after the hellish training on the battlefields, her healing endurance will far surpass yours."
"Plus, unlike you, she herself even has a certain level of warrior ability."
"If you and she were to join opposing factions and confront each other, the one who wins in the end might not be you."
If Amid seven years later heard Brother Rhode's words, she would at most just laugh it off, but the young girl now still had some competitive spirit.
Normally, everyone in her Familia considered her the strongest healer in Orario, but now, an existence comparable to her suddenly appeared.
She inevitably developed a sense of urgency and competition.
She could tell that Brother Rhode wanted to invite her, but she was still a bit unconvinced.
"If I join your Familia, will I become stronger in the field of healing?"
Brother Rhode didn't answer directly, but asked in return.
"You know the business model of the Dian Cecht Familia, and I'm sure you understand your Goddess's personality better than I do."
"When you grow up, you'll definitely become a core pillar, but then you'll be working overtime every day, from nine to five, incredibly busy~"
Amid's small face instantly tightened.
"Hmm… that, that's a bit scary…"
At this time, the still-immature Saintess was naturally proud of her profession as a Healer, but she also had the desire for playtime.
The thought of such an extremely exhausting corporate slave life made her gulp.
And the most crucial thing was that the Head God, whose eyes were full of money, would truly profit immensely from her magic!
In the past, Amid would have thought this was normal.
But after Rod's repeated guidance, other thoughts had quietly taken root in her heart.
Too much is as bad as too little, Rod only added one last sentence.
"All your questions will be answered when you join us, and you can also pay attention to the growth rate of the newcomers in my Familia."
To him, Amid's ability was just icing on the cake; what he valued most was actually that she was a cute silver-haired loli.
Then Rod looked at the golden-haired loli beside him, who was holding her beloved sword and acting aloof, and was about to speak with a smile.
Riveria's right hand rested on Rod's shoulder, a gentle smile on her face.
Her eyes, gleaming with a cold light, seemed to be looking at a scoundrel who was about to abduct her daughter right in front of her.
"Rod, what do you want to say to my Ais?"
Rod immediately dropped his smile and became serious.
"I just wanted to ask her why she wasn't with the rest of your Familia, and if she had snuck out again without listening to her mother."
Rod's words immediately diverted Riveria's firepower.
The next moment, *thump*! *clang*!
Ais clutched her head, glaring at Riveria with teary eyes.
Loki, who was still entangled in a fight nearby, caught a glimpse of this scene and immediately shouted excitedly, "A young girl with teary eyes is so cute—let's take her home!" and similar remarks.
As a result, she wasn't paying attention and was once again thrown to the ground by Hestia, who then mocked her fiercely.
"Glaring at me with those eyes is useless! Why didn't you listen to me, Ais!"
Seeing Riveria, who was still shaking her emerald-colored long hair, the timid Ais no longer glared and said softly.
"Ryuu has gotten stronger again… I want to get stronger too…"
Riveria looked at Ryuu.
Ryuu's eyes widened; she never expected to be blamed for this, and she said nervously.
"Lady Riveria, I really didn't abduct Ais; I just met her by chance!"
Riveria sighed helplessly.
"I know your character, I'm not blaming you… and you don't need to be so respectful to me."
"How could I not! Lady Riveria is royalty!"
"Eh…"
Riveria naturally didn't like being treated with such reverence by the elves, but she also couldn't do anything about this stubborn elf.
However, she hadn't expected Ryuu and Ais to get along quite well.
Friends might be too strong a word, but they were definitely each other's favorite rivals.
It's just that before, the two were evenly matched, but later Ryuu was already able to suppress Ais, and this speed of progress made Ais anxious.
Riveria glanced at Rod, who was acting serious beside her, and thought to herself.
Could Ryuu's change also be related to him?
No wonder he was so confident in inviting Amid earlier.
In fact, that was indeed the case.
Ryuu was very diligent in carrying out missions, thus accumulating a lot of contribution points, and had already exchanged for Kaguya's Iaijutsu, further improving her sword techniques.
Then, in private, she constantly exchanged ideas with Che Huiyi, incorporating Che Huiyi's sword dance into her own sword techniques.
And Ais, without a cheat-like system for wishes, and without an opponent she could constantly spar with and learn from, would naturally gradually fall behind.
Riveria also knew Ais's inner obsession; that kind of thing couldn't be solved by simply suppressing it.
If Ais continued to blindly fight monsters, it would be too dangerous.
At this moment, she was somewhat hesitant about whether to let Ais have further contact with Rod.
She still trusted Rod's abilities and character, but the problem was… she didn't trust Rod's integrity!
She was truly afraid that if she sent Ais away, she wouldn't come back!
Hmm… maybe I, as her guardian, should go along too?
This thought gradually arose in Riveria's mind.
But if that were the case, Rod would have to be adequately compensated.
She was sure that if she made this request, Rod would agree, but she didn't want to use their friendship to demand it from him.
I wonder if my little stash of money is still enough…
While the Elf Princess was deep in thought, Ais secretly glared at Rod, as if accusing him of diverting the firepower onto her.
Rod pretended not to see it and instead asked Alfia, who was beside them.
"How did you all get together?"
The disguised Alfia glanced at A Di.
"Ryuu came over after her morning training and saw that we were going to the Dungeon, so she offered to lead the way for us."
"As for A Di, we ran into her on the street catching a thief, and she even found out that the thief had a companion operating on the first floor of the Dungeon."