Chương 52: New Children of Hestia Familia

"I missed you too, Lady Hestia." Cael gently hugged Hestia and spoke warmly.

"But this is not the time to get comfortable. Everyone has been waiting for you." The whole group stared at the scene, a little stunned. The goddess had thrown herself into Mr. Cael's arms like a girl in love. Lili's mouth fell open. Lady Hestia had rushed into Lord Cael's arms like a lovestruck maiden. Did that mean Lady Hestia liked Lord Cael? Actually, that made sense. Lord Cael was gentle and considerate, like the heroes sung about in old poems. Even a goddess would fall for someone like him.

Still, Lili would not lose, not even to a goddess. Lili would absolutely not leave Lord Cael. Her little fists clenched, and fire seemed to blaze in her eyes.

"Hehe. This is wonderful. Kyojuro, are these children your friends?" Hestia finally pulled away from Cael and looked happily at the people standing with Kyojuro.

"Are all of you willing to join Hestia Familia and become my family? Cael has already explained the important parts, right?"

"Yes, Lady Goddess. He has explained everything." Everyone immediately went down on one knee and answered with deep respect.

"Then I will not ask anything unnecessary. Let us form the contract right away." Hestia's voice was bright and full of energy. Her blue eyes swept across each of them like she was looking at treasure. Every one of them had so much personality. Kyojuro had said each of his friends was stronger than he was. That meant they probably had rare abilities, and their Basic Abilities should be far beyond ordinary people too.

"Hehe. Then who should go first?" Seeing Hestia so energetic, almost like a little girl, helped everyone relax. What a unique goddess. Becoming part of this goddess's Familia might actually be warm and easy to accept.

"Let Master Ubuyashiki go first," Sanemi said before anyone else. Kagaya, whose facial illness had already been treated, smiled gently.

"Thank you for yielding to me, children."

"Master? Are you their family head?" Hestia asked, blinking.

"Only someone they choose to respect. My name is Kagaya Ubuyashiki, Lady Goddess." Kagaya spoke with gentle humility, then lowered himself and slid his outer garment down to expose his back.

"Then I will begin, Kagaya."

"I am ready, Lady Goddess." A drop of divine blood fell. Sacred characters rose and layered over one another like the gears of a clock. [Status] Name: Kagaya Ubuyashiki Level: Lv. 1 Basic Abilities Strength: I 0 Endurance: I 0 Dexterity: I 0 Agility: I 0 Magic: I 0 Development Abilities: None This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. Magic: None Skills Voice of Ease - When speaking, makes listeners relax and feel at ease.

Elder's Guidance - Words of guidance have a high chance of helping listeners find a path forward in life.

"Mm. That fits someone who guides a family," Hestia said.

"Kagaya, your Skills are quite good. One of them is even rare. They are not suited for adventuring, though."

"Thank you, Lady Goddess." Kagaya accepted the parchment with his Status copied onto it, deeply satisfied.

"I prefer a peaceful life. Listening to the children's troubles from time to time is enough for me." To receive even this much from a god was already a blessing.

"Who is next?" Hestia looked toward the eager group.

"Me." Sanemi stepped forward before anyone else, removed his upper garment, and crouched. His voice was rougher than most.

"I am Sanemi Shinazugawa, Lady Goddess. I will be in your care." [Status] Name: Sanemi Shinazugawa Level: Lv. 1 Basic Abilities Strength: SSS 1178 Endurance: SS 1192 Dexterity: SSS 1156 Agility: SS 1125 Magic: C 636 Development Abilities: None Magic: None Skills Sword Technique Master - Greatly increases the speed of learning sword techniques. - Greatly increases the power of sword techniques. Scarred Body - Body scars increase active attack power. - Effect increases according to the number of scars.

Rare Blood - Intoxicates certain nonhuman creatures. - Effect increases according to the amount of blood exposed. Battle Instinct - Greatly enhances physical reaction during battle. - Greatly enhances physical performance during battle.

"Wow. Sanemi's values are close to Kyojuro's. He has fewer Skills, but his Basic Abilities are a little higher." Hestia had prepared herself, but she was still surprised.

"I fought man-eating demons for years, so I trained my body as hard as I could," Sanemi said bluntly.

"I can feel myself getting stronger now. Thank you, Lady Goddess." His voice sounded irritable, but it was less anger than an inability to express gentler emotions. The lock on his potential had been opened, and his strength had climbed. He had not felt this kind of growth in a long time. He would not forget this debt to Cael and Hestia.

"You fought man-eating demons? Like Kyojuro, you were already fighting monsters before becoming an adventurer. No wonder your abilities are so unusual. You must have suffered a lot." Hestia spoke with real concern. Still, only someone with talent found once in a million could reach values like this before receiving Falna.

"It is the duty of Demon Slayers to wipe out demons that eat people," Sanemi said harshly, his bloodshot eyes filling with hatred.

"All right, all right. That is in the past for now. Next." Hestia smiled and looked at the others with sparkling eyes.

"Then I shall go next." Tengen pointed at himself with a flamboyant sweep of his thumb. Tengen's Basic Abilities were similar to Sanemi's, and he also had Sword Technique Master. Perhaps every Hashira possessed a form of sword mastery. Anyone who fought with a blade at their level had to be extraordinary. [Status] Name: Tengen Uzui Level: Lv.

1 Basic Abilities Strength: SSS 1117 Endurance: SS 1126 Dexterity: SSS 1189 Agility: SS 1191 Magic: C 698 Development Abilities: None Magic: None Skills Sword Technique Master - Greatly increases the speed of learning sword techniques. - Greatly increases the power of sword techniques. Sound Breathing - Moderately enhances all physical abilities. - Adds sound-wave reinforcement when using sword techniques. Musical Score - Reads an enemy's battle rhythm. - Analyzes weak points and blind spots.

- Effect improves the longer the rhythm is read. Environmental Awareness - Greatly enhances perception of the surrounding environment. Explosives Expert - Moderately increases the power of explosives. - Moderately increases the ability to create explosives. Beast Taming - Grants a high chance of taming small animal life-forms. - Successfully tamed beasts receive moderate increases to intelligence and ability. Next came the Serpent Hashira, Obanai Iguro.

He also possessed Sword Technique Master, just as Cael had guessed. [Status] Name: Obanai Iguro Level: Lv. 1 Basic Abilities Strength: SSS 1167 Endurance: SS 1126 Dexterity: SSS 1179 Agility: SS 1063 Magic: C 623 Development Abilities: None Magic: None Skills Sword Technique Master - Greatly increases the speed of learning sword techniques. - Greatly increases the power of sword techniques. Serpent Breathing - Moderately enhances all physical abilities.

- Adds serpent-like spiritual reinforcement when using sword techniques. Tenacious Spirit - Grants high resistance to abnormal mental states. - While the mind remains firm, strengthens all learned Skills. - Effect strengthens according to the depth of pain endured. Transparent World - Allows the user to see through the structure and movement of living bodies. - Allows the user to perceive weak points in living bodies. - Accelerates the user's perception.