In Drake's view, the fact that he could travel to other worlds could not be hidden from the goddess forever.
Because after receiving a Falna, one's experiences would be returned to oneself in the form of great deeds and displayed through one's Status.
Unless Drake never intended to update his Status again, Lady Goddess would sooner or later notice sothing.
Because…
The gods also possessed the ability to travel between worlds.
Drake had already confird this point when he saw those magic-stone machines filled with a modern technological feel inside the Adventurers Guild.
After all, how could Orario's native inhabitants possibly call a magic-stone-powered lift an "elevator"?
So rather than that, he might as well take the opportunity presented by the discovery of the Gift of Salvation skill and choose to reveal part of the truth.
Of course, only part of it.
Naturally, Drake would not say anything about the contract, the system, and similar matters.
"You an… after obtaining a Falna, you gained the ability to travel to other worlds?!"
After listening to Drake's "confession," the two goddesses cried out in surprise at the sa ti.
Hephaestus glanced at the troubleso friend beside her and could not help retorting,
"Why are you surprised? Drake is not even in your Familia."
"The atmosphere was right… and he already allowed to look at his Status!"
"Um…"
Seeing that the two goddesses were about to start arguing again, Drake could not help raising his hand and interrupting them.
"Lady Goddess, do you not have any thoughts about this?"
"Of course I do."
Hephaestus sighed and reached out to touch Drake's head.
"I thought you really managed to level up this quickly just by forging alone."
"Now it seems… you have suffered quite a lot, haven't you?"
"…Mm."
Drake fell silent, nodded wordlessly, and then smiled as he said,
"In a certain sense, I suppose I have died several tis."
"Silly child."
Hephaestus gently pulled Drake into her arms and softly stroked his back like a mother.
"What kind of difficulties did you endure, and what kind of powerful enemies did you defeat, to grow to this extent?"
"And… you never told any of this."
A few traces of gentle reproach appeared in the god's warm gaze.
"Whether it is the great deed of saving a world or all the adventures you have experienced until now, you can tell everything."
"You do not need to bear these things alone."
"That's right."
Another goddess's voice ca at the sa ti. Hestia hugged Drake tightly from behind and spoke softly.
"If Hephaestus has no ti, you can co to too… Rather, you should co to first!"
"Lady Hestia."
"Hm? What is it? I'm listening."
"Could you trouble yourself to loosen your arms a little? I can barely breathe…"
After finally escaping from being sandwiched between the two voluptuous goddesses, Drake let out a breath of relief.
"As expected of goddesses. I nearly went to Heaven just now."
"The only ones staying in Heaven right now are a bunch of guys who are about to go insane from overti."
As if rembering sothing, Hephaestus gave an awkward laugh.
"You are better off staying in the lower world. Those people do not have kind expressions for the Familia mbers of us gods who are slacking off down here."
"It seems the situation in Heaven is complicated too…"
"There is no helping it. After all, we pushed all the duties of reincarnation onto the gods who remained there."
Hephaestus smiled and spoke aningfully.
"For gods, being able to travel to different worlds is actually very normal. It is just that, for a child like you to possess such an ability, that is extrely rare."
"To ensure that other gods do not beco interested in you, this matter should remain known only to you, … and Hestia."
"I will help you hide this little secret. However…"
"However?"
Drake's spirits imdiately rose. He secretly thought that this was probably where Lady Goddess would state her conditions.
"I have stayed in Orario for so long that it has also been quite a while since I traveled through other worlds."
A nostalgic look appeared on Hephaestus's face.
"After you return from other worlds, when you have ti, tell about those worlds."
"…That simple?"
"That simple."
Hephaestus rapped Drake on the head in irritation.
"What did you think your goddess would ask of you? Sothing excessive?"
"Uh… I have heard quite a lot of stories from mbers of the Loki Familia."
"Oh, Loki is an exception. Rather, after descending to the lower world, her terrible personality has already restrained itself quite a lot."
Hestia, standing at the side, looked between Drake and Hephaestus and could not help cutting in.
"What about ? I want to hear stories from other worlds too!"
"Hestia…"
Hephaestus turned back in surprise.
"Why are you still here?"
"…I'm fighting you! Even if we have tens of millions of years of friendship, today we must settle this here!"
Drake hurriedly grabbed the petite goddess, who was attempting to start an unrestricted brawl with Hephaestus.
"Speaking of which, I collected quite a few manga and novels from another world. I wonder if Lady Hestia is interested."
"Manga? And novels?!"
Hestia clearly knew about these two kinds of entertainnt from other worlds. Her eyes instantly began shining.
"Very perceptive, Drake. Those are the real treasures of other worlds. If you encounter more in the future, rember to bring plenty back!"
"Of course, if there are ga consoles or sothing like that…"
"Do not make things too difficult for him, Hestia."
Only then did Hephaestus rember the matter of the Status update that had just been interrupted.
"Tell about your newly obtained Gift of Salvation skill. It seems you encountered a very troubleso world?"
"If you call it troubleso, it is not exactly troubleso."
Drake briefly introduced the situation of the Black Bullet world.
In truth, once he personally cleaned up the various hidden dangers in the Tokyo Area, that world would enter a relatively peaceful period.
"I never expected there to be such a world. Even among the countless worlds I have traveled through, that one can be considered rather unusual."
Hephaestus clicked her tongue in wonder and gave her evaluation.
"You have not yet received the reward granted by the Gift of Salvation, correct?"
"That's right. In fact, before updating my Status, I did not even know I had this skill."
Drake nodded.
If not for this skill, there was no way he would have laid out the matter of traveling between worlds today.
"Then it seems close to what I thought."
"The reason you obtained this new skill is because you possess the will to carry out salvation."
As she spoke, Hephaestus patted Drake's shoulder with gratification, her face full of approval.
"As expected of the child I chose. If this were the Age of Gods, you would certainly have the qualifications to beco a Heroic Spirit."
"Go and do what you want. No matter what kind of goodwill that disaster-ridden world uses to repay you, it is a reward you deserve."
"However…"
At the end, the goddess winked at Drake.
"Be careful."
"Yes, Lady Goddess."
...
After walking out of Hephaestus's smithy, Drake felt as though he had stepped into another world.
Even now, he still did not quite believe that he had told one of his greatest secrets to soone else.
Fortunately, the other party was Hephaestus.
She was the patron deity of the Familia he belonged to.
A true, great goddess filled with divinity.
"Now I can finally explore with peace of mind. Although it was not much different before, I still feel much more reassured."
For Drake, having soone who could listen to and share his experiences was not bad.
No.
There were two.
When Drake returned to Adventurer's Ho, he discovered that Hestia had sohow run over to the shop.
"No wonder I couldn't find you anywhere after the shop closed."
After the earlier conversation, Hestia had cleared up many of her previous doubts.
"So you were going on adventures in other worlds!"
"More or less. The shop's business has been thanks to you and Lili looking after it."
"Hehe…"
Hearing Drake's praise, the petite goddess proudly lifted her chin.
"If you know that, then bring back more manga from other worlds. You know… that kind of thing."
"I did not expect Lady Hestia to be such a shut-in. No wonder Lady Hephaestus is your only friend."
"G-Gods cannot be called shut-ins! I simply prefer the entertainnt products created by the children of the lower world!"
"Yes, yes…"
While perfunctorily responding to Hestia's defense, Drake dug out a pile of books from a miscellaneous box.
"These are manga and novels I collected before. You ca here for these, right?"
Seeing the various manga magazines Drake took out, Hestia was just about to reach out and take them when Drake continued,
"However… Lady Hestia would not beco overly addicted to these things and end up neglecting proper work, would she?"
"Ahaha… how could that happen?"
Looking at the petite goddess's awkward smile, Drake's eyelids could not help twitching.
Do you think I don't know what kind of freeloader you used to be?
If not for the fact that a god's body was always healthy, with your shut-in lifestyle, your nutrition would not only have gone to your chest.
"I have decided." Drake suddenly thought of a thod and coughed lightly.
"I will provide you with these otherworldly reading materials, but they will not be free."
"You will need to buy these books with money. As for where the money cos from, I will continue paying you wages."
"If your performance is poor… I will deduct your pay."
Hestia's outstretched arm suddenly froze in midair, and the smile on her face also stiffened.
As if she had been struck by dusa's gaze, her entire body turned into a stone statue.
"D-Deducting pay is not necessary, right?"
"Or I could simply replace you with a more diligent shop assistant…"
"N-No need! Lili and I are perfectly fine!"
After agreeing to a few ground rules, Hestia happily carried away a pile of manga.
Judging from the valis she paid and the wages Drake paid her…
She might end up going to Hephaestus's place to freeload als over the next few days.
"Now then, what should I do?"
Drake looked at the ink-black night outside the window and suddenly rembered his original goal before going to find Hephaestus.
"It is ti to go et Skeletron in the Dungeon."
"I wonder what kind of world will be unlocked this ti."
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