Rod seriously suspected that if Chun Ji had been born in the heyday of the Zeus and Hera Familia, this world would have probably been cleared long ago.
While they were chatting, Alfia and Metria also walked over, yawning.
Metria pouted and flopped directly onto the dining table, drawing out her voice as she whined to Rod.
"Did we get a cat at home? The cat's meows were so noisy last night~~~~"
Alfia stared at Rod with a deep gaze, seemingly wanting to see what excuse he could come up with this time.
As far as she knew, although there were many catgirls in the Hearthfire Manor, there were no actual cats.
Rod cleared his throat, his expression unchanged and his heart not skipping a beat, and casually pulled out a cute, emerald-green cat from the Shadow World beside him.
"You're right, it's all this guy's fault!"
When Metria saw such a cute little creature suddenly appear before her, her eyes instantly lit up with a "Duang" sound. She immediately pounced like a hungry cat, hugging it tightly in her arms and happily rubbing against it.
"Wow! So cute! What's her name?"
"Alice. She was the one meowing wildly last night. Do you want to scold her?"
"Maybe not."
Alice blinked her crystal-like big eyes: "Meow meow meow?"
She originally wanted to struggle, but after sniffing, she smelled Rod's scent on Metria, then complacently snuggled in, finding a comfortable position to curl up.
Alice's appearance caused a surge of girlish excitement among the girls in the dining room, who all cheered and wanted to pet and hug her.
Especially the catgirls, who nearly came to blows over her. Even Anakitty, usually the quietest, couldn't help but sneak glances from time to time, her tail wagging happily behind her.
Alfia was silenced by Rod's move.
She shook her head helplessly, her gaze lingering on the ruby protruding from Alice's forehead for a moment, her eyes widening in surprise.
"This creature... could it be a Carbuncle, a rare species like the uncommon Unicorn?"
"Eh eh eh, is this little one that precious?"
"Even in the past, when we explored the Dungeon many times, we rarely saw her. As for anyone being able to catch her and keep her as a pet, we've never seen that."
"Then how did Rod find her?"
Rod shrugged nonchalantly.
"I didn't look for her; she actively came to 'extort' me."
"...."
Metria, holding Alice, nudged Alfia with her arm, instigating.
"Rod is so arrogant, Alfia, why don't you teach him a lesson?"
Alfia rolled her eyes at her silly sister.
"Not to mention I can't beat him... even if I did, someone else wouldn't be happy."
Metria's pretty face instantly turned red with a "thump," and she lowered her head shyly, muttering softly.
"Wh-what are you talking about..."
Because they were meeting outsiders today, these two had come out directly after transforming with the Cinder Maid magic.
Lili's magic, cheap and widely useful in the shop list, was popular with everyone, and almost everyone had exchanged for it.
And a tiny fraction of all point earnings would be distributed to the original creators of these skills, magic, and techniques.
Although that girl Lili temporarily had no ability to actively earn contribution points, she could be considered to be on a stable low-income support.
"This magic is so convenient. It would be even better if there were no casting cooldown..."
Alfia took a sip of tomato soup, unable to help but let out a heartfelt sigh.
"You can transform into the corresponding race at any time based on the combat situation, thereby flexibly adopting different tactics."
This magic, in Lili's hands, could only temporarily be used as a strategic magic.
But once acquired by a monster of talent, it transformed into a tactical magic with immense potential!
"The potential of Cinder Maid is definitely not simple. Since it can even replicate racial characteristics, it might even be able to replicate some skills or magic inherited due to dominant bloodlines."
Alfia spoke with conviction, clearly already having ideas for further development.
Rod nodded in satisfaction, pushing the plate in front of him towards Alfia.
"Well said. As a reward, here's a fried dough stick."
"..."
Alfia was somewhat helpless about Rod's obvious freeloading attitude, but she didn't say much.
Alfia now served as Rod's external brain; she would first absorb, categorize, and summarize the optimal solution for any skill or technique.
Then Rod, relying on the talent copied from her, would instantly replicate it, saving both time and effort!
Alfia's current goal was to earn enough points to exchange for the Sharingan after reaching Lv8, breaking the Danmachi system's restriction on replicating magic.
By then, she would become a true monster, mastering infinite techniques and limitless magic!
That's right, Alfia was also known as Little Rod!
However, there were still too few powerful offensive magic spells in the Danmachi World.
Excluding the gods, the strongest magic should be in the hands of the Spirits.
But judging from their performance, some were even inferior to the island-destroying punch of the Deserter King from the One Piece World...
Devil Fruits, Haki system... those are also good things.
Rod pondered the benefits that could be obtained from the One Piece World and said casually.
"In that case, you might as well just transform into Taruvi's appearance."
Alfia's hand, which was picking up the fried dough stick, paused.
"I've observed that child. She hasn't activated the characteristics of the various races within her; she merely purely contains those bloodlines."
After saying that, she quickly finished the fried dough stick.
Alfia quite liked this food, which was said to come from Rod's hometown.
It was just that every time she ate it, Rod would look at her with strange eyes, forcing her to finish it quickly.
If Taruvi could truly combine the strengths of dozens of bloodlines, then she would probably be a genius of another kind.
She possessed a family-inherited "skill" similar to Kaguya's, but unlike Kaguya's, it was a purely negative characteristic.
The effect was simply that she couldn't level up through blessings, having no future whatsoever.
But if she became Rod's person, none of this would naturally be a problem.
In "I Alone Level Up," the eight Monarchs each commanded their corresponding races.
Among them was a Monarch of Fangs, the king of the Beastmen.
Rod would copy all the Monarchs' powers, but he would also upload and release them for the girls to exchange.
However, setting aside the undoubtedly exaggerated contribution points, there was also the issue of adaptability.
Taruvi... could she possibly become a candidate to inherit the Monarch's power...?
The differences between the various races in the Danmachi World were actually not that great, at least not as obvious as the differences between various Animal-type Devil Fruits in the One Piece World.
If the Beastmen also obtained Animal-type Devil Fruits...
In Kamui Space, the Apophis, who shared Rod's thoughts, immediately marked the task of "collecting all Animal-type Devil Fruits" on the system's to-do list.
After breakfast, the girls of the Astrea Familia came over in twos and threes.
As a result, they were right at the entrance, colliding head-on with Taruvi and her group, who had come for the appointment.
Taruvi's eyes lit up, and she quickly stepped forward, asking curiously.
"Such beautiful older sisters, are you also Rod's Familia companions?!"
The girls exchanged glances, and the same thought appeared in their eyes simultaneously.
—Another one actively delivering herself to the door...
Laila clasped her hands behind her head, her gaze sweeping over the armored knights not far away, and said lazily.
"We come from another all-female Familia, but our relationship with Rod can be considered an unbreakable alliance."
Hmm, it's just that something else is broken.
Uskali's eyes widened.
"Another... all-female?"
"Wait, so Rod's Familia, besides himself, are all girls?!"
Laila nodded as a matter of course.
"That's right!"
"Damn it—!!!"
Uskali fell to his knees in the snow with a "thud," hands raised to the sky, tears of jealousy streaming down his face as snowflakes covered him.
"There's actually a man in this world who's done something like this! I'm so envious... no! It's too worthy of criticism!!!"
The armored knights behind him also cried out in sorrow, clutching their heads.
"Damn it, when I think that someone in this world is actually living the life of our dreams, I just hate it!"
"Damn it, it's one thing to be handsome, but to be surrounded by so many girls! Why does Mr. Rod get all the good things?!"
"Wuwuwuwu... It's okay! At least we still have the Princess!"
However, at this moment, their Princess's heart was full of curiosity about Rod and his friends.
Taruvi, with her hands behind her back, tilted her head curiously.
"I heard Rod's main God is a Goddess named Hestia, so which God's Familia do you all belong to?"
Laila was about to speak, but Alise, after a light cough, pulled her back.
"Oh, it seems a self-introduction is necessary, isn't it? Then let us properly and thoroughly introduce ourselves to you!"
"Wait! Are we going to say that super embarrassing line here?! I'll die of awkwardness!"
"Oh, Rod specially sent someone to deliver the lines this morning, and even the Goddess was moved to tears when she saw them!"
Alise, asserting her Captain's presence, forcefully suppressed Laila, who was trying to escape, and motioned for her blushing team members behind her to strike a pose. Then, with a smile, she raised her fist and shouted loudly.
"Helping the strong and aiding the weak! Occasionally punishing both sides! Pursuing differential treatment, pursuing freedom and equality, everything is measured by the scales of justice!"
"Our wish is order, our thought is smiles! The tattoo on our backs is the sword of justice and the wings of justice!"
"We are—"
Although the others were reluctant and so embarrassed they wanted to burrow into the ground, they couldn't do anything about their foolish Captain and shouted along loudly.
""—Astrea Familia!!!""
Taruvi clapped excitedly, even running into the Astrea Familia's group and striking a pose with them, mimicking their actions.
"Oh oh oh oh! Although I don't know why, it feels invigorating!"
Only Uskali, who was slowly getting up from the ground, patting the snow off his knees, showed a moment of gloom on his face after hearing the words "justice," but quickly hid that emotion.
Afterward, the embarrassed Star Maidens learned that Taruvi had come to invite Rod out to play, and they all expressed undisguised envy.
"Eh, Sister Alise, everyone, can't we all go play together?"
Selty, holding her staff, smiled gently.
"If we all slack off, then who will maintain the peace of the city?"
Taruvi paused, looking at the girls with serious admiration, and exclaimed.
"Sacrificing your own happiness and daily life to maintain everyone's peace, you are truly great, aren't you?"
Taruvi was silent for a long time, her voice becoming somewhat low.
"But... don't you find it hard?"
Maliu's gaze fell on Rod, who was walking out of the courtyard, her adoration completely unconcealed.
"In the past, I did have the thought of 'why not just give up now.' But... we are very lucky, we met a big idiot who is willing to silently protect our innocence~"
"Don't look at us now, but it's no exaggeration to say that all of us were saved by that idiot!"
Taruvi looked up at the young man with a confident smile.
Saved, huh...
Iska tidied her wind-blown hair and said.
"Alright, everyone will have another chance to play with our new friend later. Right now, we heard there's a new instructor coming, and we specifically came to train."
Alise put her hands on her hips and announced confidently.
"It's okay, my heart of justice will definitely conquer that instructor!"
The other girls also didn't show serious expressions; they all looked relaxed.
Because they had no defenses against everyone in the Hestia Familia, and with those guys' unprecedented unity, they had no idea what kind of hell they were about to step into.
As Alise passed Rod, the smile on her face faded, and she said in a low voice.
"Those guys aren't quite right..."
Rod patted her shoulder and gave her a reassuring look.
"I know." 517
Alise relaxed at his words and followed the others to the training ground.
Rod took this opportunity to spend 1000 Wish Points to directly condense Alise's Intuition into a skill and copy it.
Unlike the Great Eater King's combat intuition, Alise's intuition leaned towards suddenly perceiving hidden true dangers without any apparent connection, which was also a very useful ability.
Ryu, on the other hand, was barely spared because she had to act with Rod.
"Eh? What's this? What a beautiful cat!"
Taruvi immediately noticed Alice, who was nestled in Metria's arms, her eyes instantly sparkling.
"Her name is Alice!"
The two girls with similar personalities quickly chattered and chatted amongst themselves, holding hands as they headed to the street.
Rod, with Ryu and Alfia, followed behind them.
Soon, A Di and Amid also gathered, and then... Riveria, holding Ais by the collar of her back.
"What are you all...?"
Riveria helplessly put down Ais, who was sleepy and almost asleep.
"Perhaps it's a rare experience to specifically come out to play, Ais uncharacteristically didn't sleep last night, and she still wanted to go to the Dungeon early in the morning."
Ais, curled up, grumbled defiantly.
"If I kill a few more monsters, I'll wake up."
Taruvi quietly leaned her head over and whispered into Ais's ear.
"Is the Dungeon fun?"
Ais didn't understand what "fun" meant. She thought for a moment, then replied in her characteristic, emotionless tone.
"When I'm unhappy... I go to the Dungeon to kill monsters... and then I'm happy when I come back."
"Th-that's how it is, then can I go play in the Dungeon?"
"No! Princess!!!"
Uskali and the armored knights simultaneously shouted, stopping her dangerous idea.
Taruvi could only express her regret.
Alice also caused a lively discussion among everyone, but besides Ais's slightly subtle expression, everyone quickly accepted the fact that she was Rod's pet.
Afterward, everyone went shopping.
Taruvi and Metria ran hand-in-hand into various shops, while Alfia and Ryu acted as bodyguards.
Ais and Amid, the two little ones, initially thought they had nothing in common, but unexpectedly started chatting about different types of monsters in the Dungeon.
And Rod and Riveria slowly followed behind them.
"I always have this... illusion that we're retired and taking a bunch of kids out to play..." Rod said jokingly.
Riveria, hearing this, turned her head slightly, meeting a pair of eyes with a mischievous smile.
She unconsciously tucked a strand of emerald-green hair behind her ear, her movements elegant.
"Rebellious children aren't always that cute."
"Then... have you ever thought about what your child would be like in the future, Riveria?"
"Hmm..."
The first image that came to Riveria's mind was a cute little girl with Rod's black hair and her own emerald-green eyes, with pointed ears, sweetly calling her "Mama."