Danmachi: I Have A Type-Moon Gacha System!

Chapter 5 - Hestia's Cuteness At Lvl999

After leaving the guild, Bell felt a mix of emotions.

When he first arrived in Orario and visited the guild, he thought he'd have to make some tough choices. But it turned out to be nothing but a waste of time.

"I thought I could join the Hestia Familia early, but I didn't expect to be here too damn soon."

Since he didn't know exactly when they were recruiting, Bell had rushed to Orario, forgetting all about Hestia's situation.

If his hunch was right, Hestia was probably still bumming off Hephaestus.

"Looks like I still need to figure out how to join the Hestia Familia."

Standing outside the guild, Bell realized waiting around was pointless. Taking action was the only way to go.

---

"Waa waa oo!"

Crying echoed from Hephaestus' shop, making people stop and stare.

They didn't know what was going on inside, but those cries definitely didn't sound like something simple.

This was Hephaestus' weapon shop. The one crying had been thrown out long ago, but you could still hear the whining and bitching.

"Hephaestus, why can't I find a single child? That guy found so many!"

The voice was full of frustration and complaints, but it was clear she was on good terms with Hephaestus; otherwise, she wouldn't be here whining.

The customers who stopped outside hesitated to go in.

If they barged in now, they might end up with a headache of their own. No one needed that kind of bullshit.

The goddess inside was clearly new to the lower world and was pissed off because she couldn't find any followers.

What if she tried to recruit them?

Joining a crappy familia would just mean a future of failure. And since she seemed to be tight with Hephaestus, refusing might mean never coming back to this shop.

Thinking of that, all the undecided adventurers outside took off.

Hephaestus, inside the shop, noticed this and let out a long sigh.

Looking at Hestia, still bawling, she thought, "Doesn't this idiot realize her personality is the reason she can't find anyone?"

"Hestia, quit crying in my shop about not finding members. How the hell did you try recruiting them?"

Even shitty gods can usually find some kids interested in joining their familia.

Hephaestus was surprised. Even if Hestia was a bit of an idiot, she should've been able to find someone.

Given her connection with Hestia, she figured that if Hestia just registered with the guild, someone would show up in a few days.

"I asked them one by one."

Hephaestus slapped her face with her hand, and through her uncovered eye, saw Hestia's "What's wrong? Why are you covering your face?" look.

She could just imagine this fool grabbing adventurers one by one and asking, "Wanna join my familia?"

"Is this girl seriously an idiot? Even if you're desperate to find members, you don't have to be this dumb about it!"

Hephaestus totally got why no one wanted to join Hestia's familia.

If the goddess herself was this clueless, her familia probably wasn't any better.

Besides, who ever heard of a god begging for followers?

Isn't it obvious to those adventurers that "my familia is weak as hell"?

Staring at Hestia's dumb expression, Hephaestus realized that every adventurer in this city probably saw Hestia as a joke.

She worried that no one in this whole damn city wanted to join Hestia's familia.

Hephaestus grabbed Hestia's face with both hands.

"Are you an idiot? Don't you know the easiest way for gods to get a familia is to register with the guild?"

"Um..."

Hephaestus sighed and let go, watching Hestia, now crying because of what she said.

"So what should I do? I asked them one by one."

Hephaestus covered her face again, realizing that letting this fool act on impulse was the biggest mistake.

"Now we've got a problem. With the way you've been acting, all the adventurers in Orario probably put you on their 'do not join' list."

"What!? What the hell am I supposed to do then?"

Hestia was freaking out after hearing Hephaestus' take on things.

This was a big deal—how was she supposed to find followers?

If adventurers really had blacklisted her, how the hell was she going to find anyone?

Hephaestus, frustrated with the whole situation, felt the headache growing.

What the hell do I do now?

She was the one who wanted to ask that question the most.

It was obvious Hestia's stupid actions had spread all over Orario. If anyone still wanted to join her familia, they would've shown up by now.

But here they were, and this idiot was still hanging around like a lost puppy.

"Hey... I think you might as well give up."

Hephaestus had given up on convincing Hestia to try harder because she could see that no matter how much effort Hestia put in, she wasn't going to change.

Unless some newcomer showed up who hadn't heard about her reputation yet, maybe—just maybe—they could be tricked into joining Hestia's familia.

The bell on the shop door rang, drawing the attention of both Hephaestus and Hestia.

A guy in a trench coat walked in, his face mostly hidden by a hood.

But as soon as he spoke, Hephaestus' eyes lit up.

"Hello, Hephaestus-sama, my name is Bell Cranel, and I just arrived in Orario."

"..!?"