/One hour later…/

"I feel bad for taking advantage of them like this…" Said Silver as he walked back to the Church

But in a sense… They are also getting a lot from this.

'Silver thought deeply as he walked through the dark roads of Orario.'

'After discussing a bit with Miach and Naaza, Silver proposed a deal. He felt a bit bad for it though since he went there just to talk a bit and eventually struck a deal...'

'So he felt it was a bit wrong since he was using their kindness as a way to secure the deal…'

'It was a deal very similar to what the Loki Familia has with the Dian Cecht Familia.'

In exchange for better prices and preferential treatment, the Hestia Familia would buy 'exclusively' from the Miach Familia.

The contract only applies to the Hestia Familia, meaning the people themselves can buy from other clinics.

Normally, big purchases are made under the name of their respective Familias.

So, if the Hestia Familia needs to buy a large number of items such as potions and medicine at once, like in preparation for a Dungeon dive, they will have to go order it from the Miach Familia.

This isn't all they are offering us though.

As you already know, the Miach Familia has a strange reputation due to their God always… Donating valuable potions to other people.

They are known to always be late on their commissions and most of the time, the quality of their services and products is said to be one step below their competitor.

Because of this, the Miach Familia never received an offer for this type of relationship.

From a Familia perspective, even if they lose a bit by making a contract with the Dain Cecht Familia, it is still better than the Miach Familia.

This makes it so that we, the Hestia Familia, are always going to be the first to receive commissions and other quests issued by them.

This may sound small but it's actually quite good.

The most important thing is to keep money circulating, to make people occupied.

The Hestia Familia will pay for potions and medicines while the Miach Familia will pay to get materials and other quests done.

"If I were to propose such an alliance to their competitor, the Dian Cecht Familia, we would certainly not receive such a deal…"

Since they are already contracted to the Loki Familia.

As to why I did this in the first place?

I may not need it, but the future members of the Hestia Familia will need such supplies.

In high amounts at that.

It may seem as if I am rushing things since it will take a long while for the Hestia Familia to grow to a state where it will start to consume items in a similar fashion as to the Loki Familia.

"What is necessary to run a Familia?"

Connections…

But building connections takes time…

Hestia already knew Hephaestus, and from that relationship and a few minor events, we managed to secure a stable deal with them.

Equipment won't be an issue for the Hestia Familia as long as we have money.

Money is… Pretty easy to get.

And now, I have established a new connection to the Hestia Familia.

Potions won't be an issue to the Hestia Familia anymore… I hope so at least.

If the Miach Familia isn't capable of keeping up or they start to screw up then I would have to cut our deal.

Even if that's a bit heartless… And to be honest, I would prefer for this to never happen. Maintaining a good relationship with someone I already know is much better than just jumping ships.

The rest is up to Hestia to discuss with Miach.

My job here is done…

/Tud!/

"Oh!" Said Silver

'On the way back, Silver ended up losing his guard due to his thoughts and he bumped into someone on the road.'

/Clack/

'The man's glasses ended up falling on the ground.'

"I am sorry, it's quite late so I…" Said Silver as he crouched to pick the glasses

"It's ok, it was also my fault for not paying attention." Said the man

'Silver lifted his head and looked at the man.'

'It was a blond Elf with red eyes, quite unusual…'

'But Silver did not care, all Elves tend to be beautiful, so seeing another beautiful Elf is no surprise for him.'

"Here are your glasses." Said Silver as he handed the silver glasses back to the man

'He smiled and nodded.'

'And just like that, they parted ways.'

'But… Was this really accidental?'

'In the middle of the night on an empty street, was it really possible for two people to bump into each other like that?'

…

'Soon enough, Silver arrived at his humble home, the old Church.'

"Hm?"

'He noticed that the lights on the first floor were lit, was Hestia waiting for him?'

/Creeak…/

'Silver opened the doors and saw Hestia talking with someone.'

'A beautiful green-haired woman in a long white dress.'

"A guest?" Asked Silver as he made his way inside the Church

'Due to the noise, the two girls turned their eyes towards Silver.'

"You're finally here! I am dying of hunger!" Exclaimed Hestia

"... What about 'welcome back'? Or, 'how was it'? Is that how my goddess welcomes her precious Captain after a hard day of work?" Asked Silver as his face blackened

"Hee?... Welcome back Silver… Now, food?" Said Hestia with a sly smile

"..."

/Chuckle/

'The green-haired lady started to chuckle as she witnessed this scene.'

"I don't think we've formally met." She said

"Oh yeah… Let me present you, Silver… This is Leto, an old friend from heaven." Said Hestia as she pointed at Leto

"Nice to meet you, Miss Leto." Said Silver as he nodded

I think I saw her at Apollo's party… So she is the one who challenged Tityos before me… And the Goddess of those guys I saved.

Is she here to thank me for that?

Sheesh… A lot of people have been thanking me lately… Is this becoming a trend?

Silver Thanks day?... I can see that being a holiday...

"I was just talking about you, where were you?" Asked Hestia

"Oh? I went to visit Miach and his Pharmacy, in fact, there is something I need you to take a look at later." Said Silver

I'll need Hestia's opinion on this deal... Not like she has a choice but she needs to learn how to handle these things.

"..."

More work…

'Hestia on the other hand wasn't too happy with the idea of having more work to do…'

"Pardon me for my rudeness, but it's getting pretty late." Said Leto

'Hestia looked at a clock on the wall and said:'

"It's already over 10? That was quick."

"Yes… If I don't return soon, my children are going to become worried…" She said as she approached Silver

"I wanted to meet you for a long time but I always failed, even at Apollo's party."

"You must've heard this many times, so I won't repeat myself, I would like to thank you not only for unveiling Tityos plot, but also, for saving my children in the past, otherwise, I am sure my children would've…" Said Leto as she bowed

It happened two times… You saved my Familia twice…

I don't even know what I should do to repay you…

"Is there anything we can do for you?" She asked as she grabbed Silver's hand

"..."

She is really pretty...

I mean, even for a God standard.

Gods aren't Omnipotent nor are they Omnipresent, they are like Humans in mind and appearance.

Although their average appearance is rather high in the spectrum.

Leto is above that.

"It's okay, I only did it because I wanted to… Although…" Said Silver

I am tired of refusing other people's thanks like this.

"It would be too bad of me to refuse other people's help, so, would it be too much for me to ask your Familia's help during our recruiting?" Asked Silver with a smile

'Leto and Hestia were stunned, but the first smiled deeply.'

"It would be an honor to help, I am sure they would be very happy as well." She said

"My Familia is small and can't do much… But I am sure they will do their best!" She said with a smile

'After a bit more of small talk, Leto left with a smile on her face.'

…

"Silver… What did you do this time?" Said Hestia with a tired expression as she read the piece of paper in her hands

'It read: Contract…'

"Doing my job as a Captain." Said Silver

Or should I say, making the Vice-Captain Job easier…

'Hestia continued to frown for a few more minutes until she finished reading and collapsed on the bed.'

"I will visit Miach tomorrow, it has been some time since I met him." Said Hestia after some time

"What about you? There are still a few more days until the recruitment day." Asked Hestia as she looked at Silver

"Me?... I need to raise some money fast."

There are also some people I ought to visit…

"I think I will spend the next few days in the Dungeon." He said as he took his shirt off and went to the bathroom

"..."

He completely disregards my existence now…

Now that I think about it, this will end once we change houses…

This sort of relationship can't be maintained in front of our new Familia members.

Unless…

'Hestia's overflowing emotions reached a peak!'

"Silver!..." Said Hestia

'And she then realized… She thought for too long and Silver had already entered the shower.'

"..."

'But she was left hanging...'

"... I almost..."

'Hestia started to roll on her bed, badmouthing Silver until she eventually slept.'

…

/A few more days later…/

"Aww…" Said Silver as he woke up

"... Is it already tomorrow? How time passes…" He said as he stretched

'It was the last day before the recruitment.'

'During this period, Silver stayed most of his time in the Dungeon raising money and fighting the minotaurs on the 16Th floor.'

'As he said previously, Silver did not go beyond the 18Th floor.'

'That's because Silver already had a perfect 'farming' route planned on the 16th floor, hence, exploring a new floor wouldn't be as profitable until he learned its overall layout, something he did not have the time to do.'

'He wouldn't be as comfortable nor as 'safe' in there as compared to the 16th floor.'

'And since he was out of monster luring powder ever since the end of the War game, he couldn't attract large amounts of monsters to speed up the process.'

'Apart from what he did at the start, he didn't do much else.'

'The Black markets are still recovering from the Loki Familia's cleaning... A few more weeks should be enough for things to stabilize.'

'To be honest, Silver even thought about commissioning the powder from Miach, but that would be a stretch, to ask something illegal when their relationship is still developing.'

'The contract with the Miach and Hephaestus Familias had been properly finished and fleshed out, and the Hearth Mansion was ready for new people.'

'There were a few things that did get his attention though.'

'His relationship with the girls at the Hostess had improved in a surprising way.'

'In two to three weeks, he went from a friend to a close friend.'

"Chloe even shared some funny stories about the other girls…"

I wonder what caused this change?

'Silver got up and went to the bathroom.'

/Shuaaa…/

'The sound of running water soon filled up the place.'

"..."

'However, when Silver left the shower, he didn't feel refreshed.'

"... I need to rest more…"

'Silver felt his head throb, it was a strange sensation.'

'Every time he woke up all the way until he entered the Dungeon, he would always feel his head throb. This has been going on since the end of the War game, so Silver initially thought it was a side effect from utilizing all of his power at once.'

'However, It would always disappear when he entered the Dungeon, so it couldn't be that…'

'And it wasn't painful, it just felt… Strange.'

"Did I contract some strange mental illness that forces me to go to the Dungeon?" Said Silver as he shook his head

'Ignoring the strange sensation, Silver put on some casual clothes and made his way to the Guild.'

…

"..."

"..."

"..."

'Silver and Loiju were silent as they stared at the demi-human in front of them.'

'The two had surprised expressions as they gazed at the girl in front of them.'

"... Why are you two like this?!" Asked the Bear girl

"... I mean… Well… This is…" Said Loiju

'Or at least tried to.'

"What he means is that your current look is quite novel, I like it, you are quite cute, had me speechless in there for a moment." Said Silver as he placed his left hand on his chin

"Ah…" Said the Bear girl

'Her previous serious face started to twist as it started to turn red.'

'She grabbed her green dress and said:'

"Aren't you surprised to see me?" She asked as she looked at Silver

"In a sense, yes, I mean, you left while saying you would stay away for a year, so I wasn't expecting you to be back within a month." Said Silver as he shrugged

"Much less with a new fashion sense." He said as he looked at the girl

"That's right, you were always someone to only wear black and white with the occasional gray Nicc." Said Louji as he fixed his glasses

"That's… That's because they are the cheapest to buy…" She said in a low tone

'Nicc! The scientist girl that left to receive her tutoring in the Kingdom of Altena is back!'

'This time, with a new look!'

'The beautiful Demi-Human was completely different from a month ago.'

'Her dressing style had changed and her hair was longer now.'

'But the biggest change was… Her expression. It wasn't as cold as before.'

"So, welcome back." Said Silver

"You weren't missed." Said Loiju with a kind smile

"..."

'Both were smiling but why did it seem that the Elf was mocking her?'

'Nicc's expression twitched, but deep inside, she felt warm again.'

'She was back.'

…

'For the next hour, Silver stayed on a nearby table talking with Nicc.'

'Loiju had his duties to attend to, so he couldn't stay with them for long, so after a few minutes, he left.'

'Nicc talked about what she saw in the country of magic, all of the interesting magic items and tools, the proficient wizards…'

'She also talked about her newest research… And how much would she pay to have Silver collect samples…'

'Nicc also realized one thing…'

"..."

How many girls does this guy know??

Within 10 minutes, he waved towards a Half-Elf, a Human girl with pink hair, and another Demi-Human with red hair…

There were also a few other girls who were looking at him with strange gazes…

Was this all due to the War game?!

The War game...

'There was one thing Nicc didn't say.'

'And it was the fact she actually arrived in Orario one week ago. This allowed her to see the entire War game live.'

'From helplessness from knowing Silver had entered a War game, to the euphoric feeling of witnessing him trashing everyone.'

'It made her realize just how strong he truly was… And it also made her a bit more aware of what she felt…'

'And that was why… Why she didn't approach him this past week.'

'During this week, she learned a lot about him, from the fact he was both the red and Platinum knight to the fact he was quite popular with the girls…'

'This made her both proud and… Stuffy?'

"..."

"Hello hello? Are you still with me?" Asked Silver as he looked at Nicc

"Oh? Sorry, I was lost in thinking." Replied Nicc

"I can see that. So? Will you tell me what's so important that you would ignore me?" Asked Silver

"Nothing much, just thinking about the future." She said as she drank a bit of water

"Now that you are a Captain of a Familia, you won't have time for my small requests anymore." She said

"Hm… Yeah?" Replied Silver

'Nicc's expression didn't change much, but she did twitch a little.'

"I surely won't be able to spend as much time on your commissions anymore."

'Nicc lifted her head in confusion.'

"You aren't going to stop?"

"Well, I mean, your commissions are nothing too big, and I find it fun to take some time in between my Hunting to seek out your items."

"However, sometimes… You ask for some very unusual and rare things…" Said Silver as he remembered a certain Jack Bird

(from the side chapters)

"Also, I will soon go to the Lower Middle floors, so I would prefer you gave me some commissions around that place to make things more efficient on my side."

'Nicc's dark expression soon brightened before she restrained it.'

'Nicc started to fondle her hair happily as she replied:'

"I see, don't worry as I have many research subjects available for the choosing."

"In fact, the deeper you go, the more subjects I have!"

Since the deeper you go, the less explored each floor is.

So there are many creatures and sights that are yet to be confirmed and documented.

"That's good then, it seems I won't run out of work anytime soon." Said Silver with a smile

"Yup, I will make sure to work you to the bone." She said with a bright smile

"As long as you pay me well…"

'But a voice suddenly interrupted their conversation.'

"HEY?! Isn't that 'Big David'?!" Said a feminine and excited voice on the side

...

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Notes