It was just after Hestia’s fiftieth failure to recruit someone into her Familia.
Her shoulders drooping, she happened to see the back of someone who looked lonely.
Judging from his build from behind, he was human. The thin, white-haired boy was wandering around the city with drooping shoulders, just like her.
Hestia was interested, so she decided to follow him for a while.
She hid in the shadows of buildings, careful not to make a sound so he wouldn’t see her. Tap tap tap. She trailed him.
He was trying to get into a Familia, apparently. He was going from Familia home to home and getting turned away at the door every time. Hestia followed him to no fewer than ten different Familias before the tired boy took a seat on the road.
The lonely boy looked up, half watching the crowds of people pass by. He was looking for a place to call his own. If she left him like this, he might die of loneliness. Or so Hestia thought as she looked at his white visage.
“Hey! You there! The back roads are dangerous. You shouldn’t use them, you know?”
The boy realized someone was talking to him.
He had stood up to go into a back road before hearing a stranger’s voice. He turned around with surprise in his eyes to find Hestia.
“T-thanks… um… Who are you? Did you get lost back here all by yourself?”
“… The one who looks lost is you, don’t you think?”
It was the worst meeting possible. This wasn’t the first time; people always treated Hestia like a child when they first met her. However, as soon as the boy realized who she was, he furiously apologized over and over again.
“Ohh. So no matter what Familia you go to, they all refuse and show you the door?”
“Y-yes…”
Pretending that she didn’t already know, Hestia stole a few looks at the boy.
While he didn’t look too dependable, there was nothing wrong with his character. Actually, she kind of liked him.
From this short conversation, she could tell that for better or worse, he was a child.
“Well, you see, um… I’m looking for an adventurer to add to my Familia right now, actually. This is quite the coincidence, don’t you think…?”
There was an almost painful hint of desperation in Hestia’s voice. She had yet to successfully recruit even one adventurer.
“I’ll join! Please, let me join!”
“… Are you sure that you are okay joining a Familia like mine?”
“Yes, of course! Are you sure that someone like me is welcome?”
Everything happened quickly after that. The two of them jubilantly introduced themselves, and Hestia Familia was born.
“All right, Bell. Follow me! We’ll make your induction into my Familia official!”
“Yes, coming!”
She led him to a run-down bookstore.
An older human was behind the counter inside the store. He shook his short white beard when he saw Hestia come inside.
“Ah, Miss Hestia. If this is about your Familia, I still say no.”
“It’s not that! Can we use the upstairs room please, Mister?”
“Ah-ah. That’s no problem. Just put the books back on the shelf when you finish reading them.”
Hestia took Bell’s hand and led him upstairs into a room that smelled like old wood.
The room was lined with shelves full of books from corner to corner. There were even books piled up on the floor in front of the shelves.
Hestia didn’t have money to buy books herself, so she got on the good side of this store’s owner and often came here to indulge in some literature.
“Okay, take off your clothes and sit here.”
“My… clothes?”
“Ah, just your shirt is fine. I’m going to engrave my blessing into you now.”
Hestia couldn’t hide her giddiness as she set to work, engraving her Falna into his back.
She had decided a long time ago that she would give her first blessing to a child in this room.
Starting out from a place surrounded by what she loved was perfect.
What could be better than beginning a new story surrounded by many books?
“Bell, why did you want to become an adventurer?”
“Well, actually, ever since I was young I wanted to meet girls like the heroes in Dungeon Oratoria…”
“Meet girls…? You wanted to become an adventurer to do that…?”
“It’s not just that! Meeting girls is the pinnacle! It’s a man’s romance! My grandfather, who raised me, always said that ‘Harems are the best’!”
“I think your grandfather was mistaken…”
Hestia finished imprinting her Falna in no time at all.
Bell now had several black markings on his back. Hestia rubbed them with her hands.
It was like the first page of an ancient classic written in hieroglyphs.
This book was called a “status.”
So, let’s see what roads you have traveled…
Excelia… It showed everything a person had done and became a status. In other words, it was the history of a person who’d received a god’s blessing. The god judged everything seen or done by their entire family and wrote that onto their back.
Hestia was now in charge of continuing to write Bell’s story.
“…… All right now, Bell. Do your best! Our Familia starts now.”
“Ah, yes!”
Golden light shone in from the window, illuminating dust in the air of the room.
It was like all the countless books surrounding them were celebrating the birth of a new story.
Hestia smiled at all the blank pages yet to be filled in on Bell’s back.
His story will be written by her from this day forward.
It will be a story interwoven with other children’s.
A story repeated many times from the past, the adventurer.
The hero, protected by the gods.
The boy will walk this path, the goddess will record it.
Familia Myth.
A person who was involved with this novel asked me, “If you had any skill (like the kind in this book), what would it be?” the other day.
This was actually a very embarrassing question. Even after putting some serious thought into it, I had no idea how to answer.
A skill is something that you excel at doing. So what am I exceptionally good at? It was then I realized that I had nothing that I could proudly declare, “I’m good at this,” to another person. I can list a number of weaknesses, but I couldn’t come up with a skill that I could puff out my chest and call my own.
I thought and thought. I briefly considered saying I could manipulate fire at will, but I knew I would regret it.
Then it hit me like a lightning bolt from the gods, bing!
The answer that came to me in that moment was “My skill is meeting people!” I said it proudly.
It makes me laugh with regret every time I think back on that person’s face and my excitement when I found my answer. Honestly, I would have liked to dig a hole and bury myself alive out of embarrassment. But I really do believe that I have a skill when it comes to meeting people.
I learned something by meeting so many people up to this point in my life. I received a lot of support and occasionally much-needed help. All of these “meetings” have given me many connections, and those connections are without a doubt my greatest treasure.
I have been blessed with many “meetings.”
This book could not have won a prize without the hard work of many people. First, I am grateful to all the members of the GA Editing Department, especially the leaders who put up with me and led me on the right path, and to Mr. Suzuhito Yasuda, for creating many illustrations for this novel. I also want to extend my gratitude to everyone I met during production. This publication was completed only because I met all these people and received their support. I would like to take a moment to express my appreciation. Thank you, everyone.
And finally to you, the one who was kind enough to read this novel. This may sound strange, but I’d like to believe that I have “met” you through this book as well.
Thank you for reading my message. Let’s “meet” again soon!
Sincerely,
Fujino Ohmori
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