Back in Kuoh Town, Takumi checked the time.
Because he'd twisted the flow of time in his territory, it was still early.
"If I go back now, it'll just be the usual few things. And that progress bar I farmed in the Underworld… it's almost at three thousand."
He thought for a moment, then stepped into the Space-Time Realm.
Since his progress was just a little short, he might as well top it off in the DanMachi world.
Crossing the dimensional gate, he returned to the Hephaestus Familia dorms.
"Mmm… perfect timing. After that marathon earlier, I can finally lie down."
Takumi narrowed his eyes and rested in the room.
His body wouldn't get tired, but mentally… there was still that faint, worn-out haze.
And while he rested with his eyes closed, Orario was being hit by another storm.
The dark faction's large-scale assault had dealt Orario massive losses.
Even with Takumi stepping in to help, the adventurers who died still numbered in the thousands.
But after the storm came the rainbow—the dark faction was crushed in that battle.
Orario's turmoil reached its end ahead of schedule.
With Freya Familia and Loki Familia at the core, the adventurers formally pushed Orario into a period of peace.
Takumi's existence, too, was exposed to every god and every faction through that war.
"An unbelievable miracle!"
"How did Hestia get that lucky?!"
"Poach him—no matter what, we have to get that shining treasure!"
…
Every god was practically drooling over Takumi now.
And among adventurers, his reputation had shot through the roof.
People sang his name, spreading the story of how he saved everyone and defeated Zald the Glutton to every corner of Orario.
A title was placed on his head:
[Hero of Miracles]
But while the city cheered, the remnants of the dark faction hadn't been wiped out completely.
They slipped back into the shadows, hunting for new openings.
And in those shadows, they, too, murmured Takumi's name.
This defeat—this collapse—its core had been him.
Still, they hadn't forgotten the other Familias.
Astraea Familia, Ganesha Familia, and more… all thorns in their eyes.
The dark faction no longer had the strength to start another war on that scale, but they were like venomous snakes in the dark—waiting, watching, and the moment they found an opening, biting down hard.
…
Unaware he'd become the center of a vortex, Takumi slept comfortably.
When he slowly woke, he realized he was lying with his head in Meteria's lap.
"Haaah…"
He drew in a deep breath—and what filled him was a sweet, clingy fragrance, like a dessert you couldn't stop craving.
"Hehe… Takumin, don't squirm~~"
Meteria's soft, breathy little moan snapped him the rest of the way awake.
Takumi rolled over, and just as his vision cleared—Meteria leaned in close, completely blocking his view.
Duang~~
A heavy, voluptuous softness pressed down, carrying that breath-stealing weight and an embarrassingly perfect kind of comfort.
Takumi went quiet for a few seconds… then took another deep breath.
"Looks like you're fully awake now, Takumin~"
Meteria's voice was gentle. She stroked his hair, a faint blush blooming across her pretty, sultry face.
She radiated that warm, motherly glow—yet her eyes held a girl's tender affection.
She hid it well… maybe she hadn't even realized it herself.
"Yo. Meteria-mom… guess I slept for a while."
"Not that long. Just until the next day. Orario's a mess right now—everything needs rebuilding."
Meteria smiled as she spoke, then explained what was going on in Orario.
Hestia Familia had basically become famous overnight.
With Takumi's name carrying that kind of weight, a crowd of adventurers who'd lost their patron gods had come looking for Hestia.
But Hestia rejected them all. Anyone with eyes could tell her feelings for Takumi weren't exactly subtle.
Even so, plenty of goddesses—and gods—kept coming around to ask about him.
They all wanted to pry him away.
"Takumi-sama~~"
Haruhime's voice floated in from outside.
Dressed in a red kimono, she carried a tray of food in both hands.
That fluffy fox tail behind her swayed side to side, and the way she trotted in—ears perked—made her look like a little puppy begging for head pats.
"Takumi-sama, you slept so long—you must be hungry. Haruhime made this for you, please eat~"
"You're thoughtful, Haruhime. Looks like you've been waiting at the door for a while."
Noticing the food had cooled a bit, Takumi smiled, sat up, and patted her head.
Haruhime immediately beamed, her fox ears bouncing adorably.
"Don't you dare sneak-attack Takumi-kun while I'm gone, you shameless fox!!"
Hestia rushed in right after her, barreling straight to Takumi's side.
She didn't hide her love at all—she grabbed his arm and pressed herself against him.
The weighty, soft pressure made it hard to think about anything else.
Hestia, grinning happily, announced, "A bunch of adventurers want to join my Familia, but as long as I have you, Takumi-kun, I don't need anyone else!"
Then she flashed a full-on lovestruck smile.
"Now hurry up and lie down, Takumi-kun! Perfect timing—I'll update your status for you!"
"…Alright."
Takumi didn't stop Hestia's enthusiastic—if mostly pointless—ritual.
He pulled off his shirt, revealing a lean, solid upper body.
Hard, defined muscle lines like they'd been carved—masculine but not bulky, every inch balanced like it was made to look good.
Even Meteria couldn't help it—she nearly started drooling.
Somewhere along the way… my Takumin had really grown up, huh~~
Almost unconsciously, Meteria reached out to touch him, her beautiful eyes shimmering as who-knew-what thoughts drifted through her head.
Hestia wiped at her own drool, then let a drop of her divine blood fall.
Normally, updating a blessing was as simple as using divine power from a distance.
But Takumi was her precious treasure, so she insisted on doing it the most traditional way.
As the divine blood touched his skin, the status panel on Takumi's back appeared.
The blessing panel—already upgraded once before—had turned into a mess of SSS-like garbled text again.
"…Yep, just like that. Completely unreasonable," Hestia muttered, even though she was used to it by now.
Then she swept her palm over it and updated the values.
[Takumi]
[Rank: Demon King-tier (ERROR/GARBLED)]
[Level: LV.3]
[Strength: I0]
[Endurance: I0]
[Dexterity: I0]
[Agility: I0]
[Magic: I0]
[Magic: Limitless Technique, Gravity, Healing, Alchemy…]
[Skills: Ultimate Lifeform, Chosen Hero, Overeat…]
Staring at Takumi's refreshed status, Hestia's expression turned complicated.
Even more stuff she couldn't understand had been added but more importantly—why was Zald's skill showing up on Takumi's panel?
…Could it be that Takumi could obtain the abilities of people he defeated?
If that was true, then all those skills and spells suddenly made a lot more sense.