Kael was walking through the narrow corridor on floor 2.
On both sides of the corridor were blue stone walls with glowing crystals that provided natural light.
Aside from the sound of footsteps on a rocky floor, the entire corridor was completely silent.
Kael inspected his battle-scarred sword.
A faint crack marred the centre of the silver blade, its edges nicked and chipped from countless conflicts.
The weapon showed signs of numerous repairs at the blacksmith's forge.
"Not like I have much money to buy a better one," he muttered to himself, acknowledging his financial constraints. "I can still use it for a few days."
He sheathed the worn blade and turned, starting his journey out of the dungeon.
Before the stairs leading to floor 1.
The dungeon wall began to crack in multiple places.
"Grrrhhhh"
3 goblins holding clubs spawned from inside, each holding a club in their hands.
Kael didn't stop for them to come out; the goblins had only come out halfway.
Their lower bodies were still inside.
Swish.
Kael slashed the goblin's head off by utilising the walls of the narrow corridor.
After taking the head of one goblin, Kael stepped on the dungeon wall and jumped at the other, and, like before, after cutting his neck, Kael once again took the head of the last goblin.
In just a moment, Kael took down all 3 goblins before they could come out.
Was that some kind of goodbye from the dungeon?
It's spawning right before I left floor 2.
Usually, I have to search for monsters myself; a dungeon rarely spawns a monster right in front of me.
Stepping on the dungeon floor, Kael thought to himself in confusion.
Who cares, I get three free golden magic stones for free.
Kael shrugged his shoulders after picking up the magic stones and storing them in his backpack.
Kael proceeded to climb up the stairs leading to the first floor.
———
After coming back from the dungeon.
Kael, without going to the adventurer's guild, heads straight back to the abandoned church.
Goddess Hestia was waiting inside.
"Kael you are late!, Your advisor Eina is waiting outside"
"Sorry, I'm late. Give me a minute, and I will be ready."
Kael replied to Hestia.
He hurriedly started preparing himself, taking a shower and changing into new clothes.
Coming out he found Lady Hestia and Miss Eina Tulle talking to each other in front of an abandoned church
Lady Hestia wears her usual outfit but Miss Eina change in to more casual dress compared to her professional guild uniform
A light-coloured off - white blouse with short, slightly puffed sleeves.
A high-waisted, knee-length blue skirt that flares slightly.
She accessorises with a thin belt at the waist and comfortable walking shoes suitable for a day out in Orario.
The Hostess of Fertility was loud.
Not the chaotic kind of loud—more like a warm, living sound. Laughter layered over music, mugs clinking, chairs scraping, voices rising and falling like waves.
The smell of grilled meat and spices wrapped around Kael the moment he stepped inside.
He froze at the entrance.
So this is what adventurers do when they survive another week…
"Don't just stand there, Kael!" Hestia tugged his sleeve.
"From tonight, you're not a rookie anymore!"
Eina stood on his other side, smiling gently.
She said in a soft voice.
"You earned this. One full week in Orario, alive, growing, and not going completely bankrupt. That's a milestone."
Kael exhaled and thought to himself.
A week.
Only seven days… but it felt like a lifetime.
Stepping inside the hostess of fertility, they took a small table near the back.
Hestia climbed onto the bench like a child, legs swinging. Eina sat properly, folding her hands in her lap.
Kael sat between them, unsure what to do with his hands.
I used to eat alone. Hard bread on stairs. In alleyways. Now I'm… here. With someone to celebrate me.
An elf waitress wearing a green dress, white apron, and black leggings approaches their table.
"What would you like to order?"
She asked, and after taking Lady Hestia's order, she headed back to the kitchen.
He watched as another cat-eared waitress, after a few minutes, brought plates—meat skewers, fresh bread, and soup. Steam from food curls upward.
Hestia slammed her hands on the table.
"To Kael Verdan! First week in Orario! First week in Hestia Familia! First step to his story of becoming a hero!"
Eina lifted her cup. "To surviving your first Dungeon dives… and not giving your advisor a daily heart attack."
Kael blinked.
"…Thank you, both of you."
His voice came out quieter than he meant.
This is a family dinner. I've never had one before.
They ate. Talked. Laughed.
During their meal.
Goddess Hestia bragged about him to anyone who looked their way. Her face filled with a proud and happy smile.
Eina scolded him about reckless positioning and praised his discipline in the same breath.
But Eina laughed more than she usually did.
And Kael… Kael just listened.
This is what it feels like to belong somewhere
This is what a family dinner feels like.
For the first time in his life, the word home didn't hurt.
From the counter, a silver-haired waitress watched.
Syr.
Her smile was soft. Warm. But her eyes never left Kael.
Inside her…
Syr kept smiling, kept serving, kept laughing.
But inside her—
Another presence stirred.
The air shifted, gold light unfolded.
And a Goddess's voice sounded.
"So… this is him."
From the moment Kael stepped into the Labyrinth city, Orario.
Goddess Freya has been watching him.
From his joining Hestia Familia upon arrival on Orario, to his first dungeon quest, to him getting injured, to him getting on his feet the very next day and going to the dungeon again and still coming back with injuries.
To his growth in one week
Syr's thoughts tensed.
"You're staring too hard."
Freya's voice was like silk and it was filled with curiosity.
"His soul is very different from others, his soul is very unique, it's layered. Not bright… but deep. It grows when he connects to others."
Freya did not look at bodies, but she looked at souls.
And Kael Verdan's soul…
It shone.
Not bright like a hero's soul shining one day.
Not pure white like a hero, not pure black like a villain.
No—his soul was layered.
Gold at the centre.
White at the edges.
And something ancient, sleeping beneath it.
Freya's lips curved.
Syr swallowed.
"He's Hestia's Familia member."
Syr's hands shook on the tray.
"You're not going to claim him for your own."
Freya laughed softly and answered Syr.
"Not yet, but one day? Perhaps."
Then, her voice became gentler:
"He doesn't grow through power… he grows through bonds. I have met many people during my time in the lower world but I have never seen such a soul. Perhaps that kind of soul can reach the realm of the gods one day. Isn't this the very reason god came down to the mortal world? Seeking an infinite variable that lies in the choice of children of the mortal world "
Hearing this Syr's eyes widened in shock.
Syr closed her eyes to hide her expression and pleaded to the goddess inside her, who is now filled with growing interest.
"Please… don't break him."
Freya leaned close and replied to Syr.
"Then keep him warm for me, Syr. Until I decide.…"
And just like that she withdrew.
But her interest did not.
On top of the tower of Babel.
From behind Syr's eyes, Freya watched Kael, sipping a glass filled with wine held in her hand.
A boy with no past…
A future that reaches gods…
"Grow," she whispered while licking her red wine-like lips
His soul pulsed when he laughed.
It flickered when he looked at Hestia.
It softened when he spoke to Eina.
And when his emotions rose…
His soul grew, not in size. But in depth.
Freya felt it.
A bond-reactive soul.
A soul that evolves through connection.
Her fingers tightened on the tray.
"Oh… how delicious."
"I'll be watching."
Back in the table.
Hestia leaned close to Kael.
"You did great this week. I'm proud of you."
Eina nodded.
"You're not just surviving anymore. You're becoming an adventurer."
Kael looked at them.
A goddess who chose him.
An advisor who believed in him.
Maybe… this really is the start of my story.
Thinking like this he raised his cup.
"To… my family."
They clinked.
[Third-person pov from Hestia's perspective]
Kael was laughing at something Eina said.
Hestia smiled—
Then froze.
Her skin prickled. It's not dangerous. Not hostility. But…
A gaze.
Ancient, playful, possessive.
Her divine instincts flared.
Hestia slowly turned her head, the tavern looked the same.
People drinking. Laughing. Eating.
But…
From the counter—
Syr's eyes met hers for just a moment.
And in that moment… Hestia felt it.
A goddess is watching her child.
Her grip tightened on her mug.
Freya…
Her jaws clench, she grits her teeth.
Hestia's Inner Voice:
So you've noticed him too.
She glanced at Kael.
He was smiling. Unaware of the dangerous gaze directed at him.
Hestia leaned closer to him.
"Kael."
He turned. "Yeah?"
"…Stay close to me, okay?"
He nodded without hesitation.
"Always."
Kael replied with a gentle smile and a softened voice.
And somewhere, high above the Labyrinth city of Orario …
Freya smiled.