"Everyone! Let's go see our new home!"
Hestia's announcement caught them all by surprise.
The news that their Familia's renovations were complete disrupted everyone's plans to venture into the Dungeon for the day.
But excitement quickly spread through the group. At last, they could leave behind their dilapidated church and cramped two-story building for a grand mansion!
Following Hestia's lead, they rushed to the former Apollo Familia residence.
The exterior remained largely unchanged — expanding such a large mansion would have required enormous funds.
Apollo, the narcissistic Sun God, had squandered most of the Familia's wealth on gaudy, impractical artwork, leaving their coffers nearly empty.
Still, Adam and Hestia had managed to fulfill everyone's wishes, paying from their own pockets to construct the requested forge and indoor hot spring.
Adam had promised they would never regret joining the Hestia Familia. He kept his word, offering this both as compensation and motivation.
Beatrice chose not to have her own room, preferring to stay with Adam instead.
The lonely high elf hadn't left her contractor's side since arriving in this strange world.
Adam welcomed this arrangement.
He certainly wasn't a lolicon!
He simply wished to nurture his relationship with someone he hadn't seen in so long.
Given Hestia's divine domain was the hearth, they named their new home the Hearth Mansion.
"Isn't this place enormous?" Welf asked, studying the map. "With a mansion this size, shouldn't we hire maids? We're too few to maintain it ourselves."
It seemed the logical next step, since everyone in the Familia was occupied.
Besides Hestia, their idle goddess, everyone else served as an Adventurer. They needed someone to tend to their base while they ventured into the Dungeon earning money.
"Maids! What a brilliant idea!" Bell exclaimed, "Imagine finding maids as capable as Miss Syr, Miss Ryuu, or Miss Anya!"
The young man's eyes glazed over as he pictured himself surrounded by skilled maids in their Familia.
His dreamy expression immediately put Hestia and Liliruca on guard.
No maids — absolutely not!
The two women exchanged knowing looks.
They firmly informed Bell that hiring maids was out of the question.
"Forget about maids."
"Exactly."
"But why not?!" Bell protested.
Welf shared his concern, "Without help, how can we possibly maintain such a huge mansion by ourselves?"
This was true. None of them would want to spend so much energy managing day-to-day household matters.
"In that case, we'll just have to recruit new Familia members." Hestia slapped the table, finally revealing what she had wanted all along.
Aggressively expand the Familia!
This was the perfect opportunity. Previously, due to her limitations and Bell's weakness, they hadn't been able to expand the Familia.
But now, with Adam's powerful rise, their Hero status, and reliable companions, wasn't this the perfect time to officially recruit new members?
"Recruit members?" Adam's voice carried a note of hesitation.
He actually didn't want to recruit too many new members, and for good reason.
The Familia's current fame and achievements stemmed solely from his influence. Moreover, managing too many newcomers at once would be challenging.
Especially now in Orario, where his meteoric rise had stirred up tensions — who knew how many might try to cause trouble?
Besides, he wouldn't stay in this world forever. Once he left, their newly built empire would crumble like a castle in the air.
"Adam, what's wrong?" Hestia asked, "Are you feeling unwell?"
Adam shook his head, "No, I'm fine. It's just about recruiting new members..."
"What is it, Adam? What do you want to say? Don't worry, speak freely!"
As the Familia's most outstanding member who had single-handedly elevated them to such heights, his opinions and decisions were crucial for their development.
His mature judgment was even more reliable than hers, a Goddess. She would consider his thoughts, both emotionally and rationally.
"Lady Hestia, I suggest we either temporarily halt recruitment or only accept a small number of new members."
Adam's words surprised everyone.
"Why? This is such a good opportunity." Hestia voiced everyone's confusion.
"Because it would agitate other Familias in Orario." Adam explained after a moment's thought, "We were quite impulsive today, pressuring two Familias and even getting a deity banished. If we then recruit large numbers of new people, others might suspect we'll continue to ignite conflicts in Orario, which would put them on edge."
This was inevitable.
Even if Adam had no intention of continuing to cause conflict, other Familias couldn't help but be wary of the hero's rapid rise to power.
Take Demeter, for instance. The Goddess of Harvest even offered him an irrefutable divine blessing to avoid conflict.
While smaller Familias joining forces would be manageable, involvement from the Loki or Freya Familia would pose a serious threat. Adam couldn't be confident against such powers.
The beauty-obsessed Freya had always coveted Bell. If she seized this opportunity to attack and steal away the rabbit, their current strength wouldn't be enough to resist.
"What's there to fear! With Adam's strength, who cares about those small Familias?"
"I can't fight all of Orario's Familias." Adam replied wearily to Welf's brash confidence, "Even if I could, I couldn't guarantee your safety — and how loyal would new members truly be?"
"Uh..."
Everyone fell silent.
Never test the human heart!
Even Lili had only become devoted to Bell after he risked his life to save her, redeeming her from her wayward path.
New recruits would likely flee at the first whisper of trouble from Orario's Familias.
"Then what should we do? Are we not recruiting at all?" Hestia puffed her cheeks in frustration.
She had always dreamed of making the Familia strong and numerous. To have such an opportunity slip away — how could she not be angry?
"We'll recruit sparingly, downplay recent events, and develop gradually behind the scenes."
Store grain, build high walls, and slowly become king — this was Adam's strategy.
As long as they avoided aggressive expansion and maintained a defensive stance, other Familias would likely be placated by this appearance.
They would recruit in small numbers and stages, developing gradually — like a frog in slowly warming water.
This measured approach would also allow time to ensure new members weren't spies from rival Familias.
Killing two birds with one stone.
"So, what should we do about the first recruitment, Adam? Do you have any ideas?"
"Let me think... got it!"
Adam thought of suitable candidates.
✧✧✧
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