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Noon the next day.
After lunch, August, Hestia, and Liliruca Arde finally made it back to the Labyrinth City of Orario. After partying like maniacs all night on Earth, they needed so serious rest.
Yui, Ui, and Lili were still full of excitent, but Hestia had been acting like a territorial cat ever since they returned. She would actually hiss at anyone who got too close and even clung to August like a giant baby when they slept.
August honestly wondered if the Goddess had lost her mind. But when he learned that Yui wanted to marry him, he just laughed. Guess he still had his charm.
Once they were back at the base, August got back to his usual routine. He spent his mornings treating patients in his own world, then crossed over in the afternoon to pick up dical supplies from the Miach Familia's pharmacy. These potions were essential.
After paying for the goods, August and Lili headed straight for the Hephaestus Familia.
"Oh my, isn't this the Hestia Familia's little prodigy?"
As soon as they walked in, a Goddess with long, wavy orange hair and an elegant dress called out from her seat. She looked at August and Lili, imdiately recognizing the rookie Hestia was always talking about.
'He's definitely good-looking. Too bad he isn't my type.' She thought.
"Good afternoon." August gave a polite bow. He had no idea who this Goddess was.
"This is Deter," Hestia introduced, popping up with a snack in hand since she practically lived here. "Patron Goddess of the Deter Familia. Her faction supplies most of the city's food and produce."
They weren't close friends, but they got along well enough to talk.
"I have to hand it to you, Hestia," Deter sighed. "Snagging a kid this good."
For the first ti, Deter felt genuinely jealous. A prodigy had co to her, attracted only by Hestia's reputation. That showed Hestia had real charm, enough to draw talent from another world. Any Goddess would be envious.
"Heh. This is my Familia." Hestia puffed out her chest. "He's the absolute best."
She was glowing with pride. Gods were always eager to show off their prized children. Hestia had no intention of hiding August's talents. She also wasn't worried about other factions coming after him. If they didn't have the strength or money to compete, she would just laugh them off.
"Alright, alright. Put a cork in it. We've heard enough about your kid," Hephaestus grumbled, waving Hestia off. She had heard this exact speech a hundred tis.
She turned to August. "I heard you were looking for so unique seeds. Deter had so free ti, so I called her over."
Hephaestus knew August was interested in Orario's local plants. Since he wanted samples, it was easy enough to ask Deter to join them. As the city's agricultural powerhouse, Deter was happy to sit down for a business talk.
"Thank you." August was surprised.
He had only ntioned it briefly to Hestia, but she still managed to get Hephaestus to set up a direct eting. Since the Goddess of Forging was usually very busy, this was a huge favor.
"So, you want so of our specialized seeds?" Deter scrutinized him.
She knew he was persistent. Her subordinate—Lunoire Faust—had already told her about the rookie's interest in their special crops. At first, Deter planned to say no because so of those seeds were very unstable. But Hephaestus had spoken up for him, suggesting that August could offer sothing very valuable in return.
Aside from his combat skills, the kid had miracle-level healing magic. In a world where Adventurers often lost limbs, having a top dic available was priceless. That was the real reason Deter ca.
"Yes, Miss Deter. I was hoping to purchase a batch," August stated.
Deter shook her head. "I'm not selling."
"The fruits grown from those specific seeds are already pre-ordered by other Familias." Deter laid out her concerns. She had a strict quota to et. Her Familia's primary mission was feeding the citizens of Orario and maintaining the city's agricultural balance.
"You probably want to take them back to your world to study, right?" Deter crossed her arms. "Honestly, giving you a fully grown fruit won't help much. It will only show you what the final product looks like."
"But if you don't mind, I can give you one pri fruit along with a batch of rejects for testing."
She was happy to give away the defective batches. They weren't worth much to her, but if August's world could figure out how to improve them, the rewards could be huge.
"Deal." August agreed instantly.
He didn't need perfect, high-quality seeds right away. One mature fruit and a bunch of rejects would be plenty. He could take the seeds and give them to agricultural scientists back ho. He wasn't a botanist, but the bio-engineering labs on Earth would know exactly what to do.
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"So, what's the price tag?" Hestia suddenly cut in. She was the Goddess of this Familia, and she sure as hell wasn't letting an outsider fleece her kid.
"Five healing sessions," Deter stated smoothly.
"Denied." Hestia shot it down instantly. "This isn't August's world. Back ho, he treats the poor out of the goodness of his heart. But down here? [Healing Fire] burns through a massive amount of mana."
"Five sessions are absurd. Regenerating a single arm costs tens of millions—maybe even hundreds of millions—of Valis in equivalent resources. And you want five? Not a chance."
Hestia quickly calculated. Trading five miracle-level heals for a bag of bad seeds was basically a ripoff.
"One session." Hestia held up a single finger.
Deter hesitated. How did Hestia know the going rates so quickly? One session? That wasn't much at all!!
"Four sessions," Deter countered, slashing her price.
"Nope. One," Hestia insisted. She refused to give in.
Deter clenched her jaw. She hadn't dealt with soone this stubborn in ages. One heal from August was valuable, but it wasn't enough to protect a whole Familia.
"Three," Deter demanded. "I won't go any lower. These are premium seeds we're talking about." If she dropped the price any further, she was practically giving them away.
"Deal. Three sessions." Hestia grabbed Deter's hand, flashing a sharp grin.
"But a handful of seeds doesn't cover the full cost."
"To balance the scales, you need to match my offer." Hestia's eyes glinted. "For every healing session we provide, your entire Familia must cast their maximum-output magic into August's storage. Five tis each."
"Five maximum-output spells?" Deter froze.
What did that an? Why did she want her kids casting spells for him?
Even Hephaestus, who had been quietly listening, choked on her drink. For every heal, the entire Deter Familia had to dump five full-power spells into August's portal?
"Hey, Hestia. Are you insane?" Hephaestus snapped. "Deter has over a thousand mbers."
"You want five volleys from all of them? Are you trying to blow Orario off the map??"
Hephaestus finally understood Hestia's plan. Since August couldn't get enough Magic Swords for his need for firepower, Hestia was just getting the magic from other Familias. He wouldn't have to cast spells himself if he could store thousands from others.
Five full-power attacks. Most of Deter's kids were farrs, but they still knew offensive spells. Their Captain was even a [Level 4] Adventurer. Putting all that magic in one place was like having a bomb ready to go off.
"MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!" Hestia shot back, before turning to her target. "Deter. Do we have a deal or not?"
Hestia knew she had the advantage. Miracle healers were the rarest people around.
Deter didn't fully understand Hestia's endga. But she wasn't being asked to hand over millions of Valis or rare Magic Swords—she was just being asked to burn so of her Familia's mana. It was an incredibly low price for premium dical insurance.
"I... accept," Deter nodded. "As long as it doesn't harm my kids, I'll take that deal." She wasn't losing anything here.
"Perfect. Done." Hestia clapped her hands together. "But just to make sure you don't back out, I want you to go ho, assemble your kids, and get those spells ready today."
"Five volleys. Upfront." Hestia wanted to make sure the deal was set right away. Once the magic was stored, Deter couldn't change her mind.
"Fine by ." Deter shrugged, seeing right through Hestia's paranoia.
She still didn't know what Hestia wanted with so many stored spells. Maybe it was for so strange experint, but it didn't matter. She got her healer and was happy.
"I'll be waiting for you back at our compound, then," Deter said, heading for the door. She wanted this finalized just as badly as Hestia did.
As they parted, the exact sa thought crossed both Goddesses' minds:
'I ca out on top.'
Humming a cheerful tune, Deter practically skipped out of the workshop, heading straight back to her turf.
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Hephaestus, however, stared at Hestia as if she had grown a second head.
"Are you actively trying to get murdered?" Hephaestus asked blankly. "Demanding an entire Familia's magic output? You are insanely greedy."
Hephaestus realized how much Deter had lost in the deal. Five full attacks from over a thousand people. If August used all that magic at once, it would cover the sky. It was like a wall of magic raining down.
He wouldn't even need guns anymore. He could drown an entire battlefield in pure magical artillery.
He was a walking nuclear warhead.
"Hmph! Mind your business," Hestia retorted proudly. "If it gives my boy the ultimate magical arsenal, who cares about a little collateral damage?"
"As expected of Lady Hestia!" Lili cheered, clapping her hands. "Stockpiling heavy artillery already! Brilliant!"
Lili understood the plan right away. With thousands of stored spells, August could destroy anything on the lower floors. Even a Floor Boss wouldn't last against that kind of attack. The thought made her excited.
"Obviously," Hestia smirked. When push ca to shove, she knew how to play the ga.
The Labyrinth had made August a big target. If Hestia didn't give him enough magic to protect himself, she wouldn't be doing her job as a Goddess. She needed to gather as much magical power as she could.
"Hey, Hephaestus..." Hestia slowly turned toward her friend, rubbing her hands together like a crooked dealer.
'If I can squeeze Deter... maybe I can squeeze the blacksmiths too.'
But Hephaestus wasn't an easy mark. She was a master of comrce. Her brain imdiately switched to maximizing profit. She wasn't about to sell her kids short.
"Five healing sessions for one volley from my Familia," Hephaestus countered smoothly.
Her blacksmiths had very strong and unique magic. So could even make anti-magic barriers. Their spells were top-level. She wanted to turn the tables and get five heals from Hestia for just one attack.
"No way!" Hestia imdiately shut it down. "One heal for five volleys. That's the rate!"
"Then pass," Hephaestus deadpanned. If she wasn't making a massive profit, she wasn't interested.
If Hephaestus let Hestia trade one heal for five strong attacks from her top smiths, August would have too much power. If she couldn't get a good deal, she wouldn't join in.
"Dammit! We're supposed to be best friends!" Hestia whined, stomping her foot. "It's a fair deal!"
She was angry. The Hephaestus Familia was a big group with powerful spells. If August could use their magic, he would be unstoppable.
"It's not fair. I'm getting robbed," Hephaestus bluntly pointed out. She knew a bad investnt when she saw one.
"Dammit, Hephaestus! Can you really guarantee your kids won't get maid in the Dungeon?" Hestia pressed hard, switching to scare tactics.
"A LOST EYE? A SEVERED ARM? A CRUSHED LEG?"
"As long as they're still breathing, August can pull them back from the brink! Are you really going to pass up that kind of insurance?" Hestia threw out her best pitch. She needed to make the bait irresistible.
"Not listening, not listening!" Hephaestus slapped her hands over her ears.
She was scared she might give in. The offer was almost too good. Being able to heal a lost limb or save a smith who was barely alive was a huge deal. The temptation was wearing her down. She was close to agreeing.
Just then, the heavy workshop doors swung open.
"Boss, Lady Artemis is here," Tsubaki Collbrande announced, leading the blue-haired Goddess of the Moon into the room.
But the mont Tsubaki pushed the doors open, she froze.
Her stoic, scary boss, Hephaestus, was desperately covering her ears, while Hestia leaned in aggressively, whispering breathless, tempting demands in an attempt to force Hephaestus into submitting to her terms.
Artemis, stepping in right behind her, was equally stunned. To her eyes, it looked exactly like Hestia was pinning Hephaestus down and aggressively bullying her into submission.
Especially when she caught disjointed words like "Do it!" and "I won't!" echoing across the forge.
'Is this... a confession??'
Artemis stared in blank horror. She had always thought Hestia's tastes were normal.
"Am I hallucinating? Is Hestia dominating Hephaestus right now?" Artemis murmured, her eyes wide. "That has to be it. I'm definitely having a nightmare."
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