The Hostess of Fertility.
Syr dumped the work on Anya and returned to her room alone.
"Good evening, Lady Freya."
An elf with long golden hair stood in the room, leaning forward slightly to greet the returning goddess.
"Hedin, you've come at the right time."
Syr rubbed her ears, feeling a bit of a headache.
Just a short while ago, Ryuu, who had taken three days off, returned to her faithful post.
But compared to before she left, Ryuu's 'condition' hadn't improved; instead, it seemed to be worsening.
In just one hour, she had knocked over drinks twice and served the wrong dishes three times.
Thanks to that, Mia's roars were still echoing in Syr's ears, making her head buzz.
"Didn't you report yesterday that Ryuu's mission went smoothly? What's the situation now?"
"Gale and Lynn had a fight."
"And then?"
"The two sides were at a stalemate for twenty minutes. In the end, Gale had to use her full strength to win."
"Eh?"
Syr froze for a moment, then rubbed her ears again.
Did she just have an auditory hallucination?
"Repeat what you just said."
"Gale and Lynn had a fight. They were at a stalemate for twenty minutes, and Gale finally had to use her full strength to win."
"..."
Very well, it wasn't a hallucination.
But something felt off.
"During those twenty minutes of stalemate, roughly how much of her power did Ryuu use?"
"Her physical attributes were initially equivalent to Level 2. After three exchanges, she increased them to the Level 3 tier."
"So, what you're saying is... Lynn fought a Level 3 adventurer for twenty minutes without losing?"
"Actually, it's not just as simple as Level 3. Gale used Concurrent Chanting during the battle."
Concurrent Chanting is a high-level technique that requires a mage to remain calm enough during combat to chant and release magic while dodging enemy attacks.
As a magic swordsman, Ryuu's proficiency in Concurrent Chanting far exceeds that of ordinary people; she can simultaneously perform four actions: attacking, moving, evading, and chanting.
As a fellow master of Concurrent Chanting, Hedin knew exactly how deep Ryuu's attainments in this field were.
But even so, Ryuu still couldn't take down Lynn during the fight and was even forced to use her full strength.
Never mind Ryuu, even Hedin, who was an onlooker, was stunned for a long time after seeing this scene.
"Lady Freya, I believe Lynn lied to the Guild about his strength. He is definitely not Level 1."
"Whether he is Level 1 or not isn't important. What's important is that he received his blessing only half a month ago."
"Half a month ago?"
A look of doubt appeared on Hedin's face.
Rarely, he felt a sense of skepticism toward his goddess's words.
"Lady Freya, could you be mistaken?"
"I also hope I'm mistaken."
After discovering the uniqueness of Lynn's soul, Syr had specifically sent someone to investigate him.
According to the investigation results, half a month ago, Lynn had the experience of collapsing from hunger on the roadside and being fed by others.
If Lynn already had a blessing before meeting Hestia, it would have been impossible for him to fall to such a state.
Even if he went to a construction site to move bricks, he would be ten or even nine times stronger than an ordinary person without a blessing!
But in reality, Lynn didn't do that.
The turning point for his change was meeting Hestia and forming a Familia with her.
"Strange, where exactly did things go wrong?"
"Do you need me to investigate?"
"No, the matter with Lynn isn't urgent. First, investigate those monsters with human intelligence."
Although Lynn's strength was a mystery, he wasn't an enemy no matter how you looked at it.
Compared to investigating Lynn's secrets, it was more important now to clarify the matter of the Xenos.
After seeing Hedin off, Syr returned to the main hall.
Thud—!
Just as she stepped into the hall, a dull thud came from not far away.
Immediately following it was a roar from Mia.
"Ryuu! What do you think you're doing, you idiot!"
"If you don't want to work, get back to your room! There are plenty of people who will!"
"Ugh, my ears."
Syr sighed, her head which had just eased up starting to throb again.
At this moment, she felt a bit resentful toward Lynn.
Why did you have to go so hard on her?
You've made her so depressed, and in the end, it's us innocent employees who suffer.
...
[YukimuraLynn — LV.1]
[Strength: A865 → S943]
[Endurance: B786 → A853]
[Dexterity: A893 → S996]
[Agility: A886 → S973]
[Magic: I0]
[Magic Spells: None]
[Skills: Unity, Hymn of Courage. ]
"Strange, the endurance increase today seems a bit higher than usual."
Looking at the freshly updated status before her, a look of surprise appeared on Hestia's face.
"Lynn, did you get beaten up by a monster?"
"It wasn't a monster."
Lynn rubbed his shoulder and sighed silently.
He had taken the initiative to challenge Ryuu, intending to prove to her that he had a 'cheat' and his strength was rising rapidly.
But he didn't know how Ryuu interpreted it; she actually got serious as the fight went on.
Even for the current Lynn, facing a Level 4 with maxed-out stats was still too much.
Not getting beaten black and blue was his final bit of stubbornness.
Throwing his clothes, which had been shredded into rags, into the trash can, Lynn changed and took out a gift box tied with a bow from his backpack.
"What's this?"
Hestia leaned in curiously.
"A gift for you."
Lynn handed the gift box over.
"You need to make an appearance tomorrow, so I took a detour on the way back and bought you a formal dress."
"A dress?" Hestia tilted her head. "Lynn, how did you know my size?"
"You crawl onto me every day when you're sleeping. It would be strange if I didn't know."
Hestia had terrible sleeping posture; every time she fell asleep, she would eventually crawl onto Lynn.
Once, he didn't know how she slept, but she had actually turned a full circle and was sleeping with her head down, hugging Lynn's leg.
When Lynn opened his eyes that day, he saw a pair of jade-like feet right in front of him.
Thanks to that, he not only got Hestia's measurements but even knew her shoe size by heart.
"Go change and let's see how it looks."
"Mm... wait a moment!"
Hestia ran out of the room clutching the gift box.
A moment later, a click sounded.
Hestia, now in the dress, pushed open the door and walked in cautiously while holding the hem of her skirt.
"How is it? Does it look good?"
"Not bad, it's quite beautiful."
Lynn nodded slightly in appreciation.
The dress he chose for Hestia was primarily blue, with an overall style leaning toward pure and innocent.
However, because it wasn't custom-made, the upper part of the dress was a bit small.
When Hestia put it on, her milky-white breasts were compressed, creating a faint sense of 'about to burst out' temptation.
"Lynn, although I'm happy you like this look, can you look me in the eye when you speak?"
"I'm observing whether the clothes fit."
"The scent of a lie is already overflowing."
"Fine, I'm just purely being a pervert."
Lynn nodded honestly and turned to open a nearby drawer.
"Take the dress off. While we have time, let's go adjust the size of the upper part."
"Eh? Lynn, you know how to sew?"
"I don't."
"?"
"It doesn't matter if I don't know, as long as someone else does."
Lynn took a coin pouch from the drawer and shook it, producing a series of crisp clinks.
"Let's go, we're going to the dress shop."
…