I Just Awakened My Sharingan, and You're Telling Me This Is DanMachi?

Hearing those words, Ryota smiled and nodded gently.

"Yes, Lady Hestia, I'm Ryota."

But just as he was about to continue, the blue-ribbon goddess's expression suddenly changed.

And then, in front of everyone, she collapsed to the ground with a thump, a look of visible sorrow spreading across her face.

"Uuuu…"

Hestia hugged her knees and mumbled in a low voice,

"Damn that flat-chested witch, damn that flat-chested witch…"

"Why is she able to recruit such a good Familia member… uuuu…"

Ryota's head filled with question marks. What kind of drama was this supposed to be? He'd never even met Hestia before, had he?

So he asked,

"Lady Hestia, what's going on…?"

"You really don't remember me?! You really don't remember me?!"

Hestia's big blue eyes looked up at him, brimming with accusation.

"I saw you before on Northern Mainstreet! You—why did you walk so fast, then even went and joined that flat-chested witch's Familia?!"

Ryota tried to think back but came up blank.

"Northern Mainstreet? Um… Lady Hestia, I'm afraid I don't recall."

"Uuuu… you actually forgot our first meeting!"

Hestia's little face drooped.

"That time when you were on your way to the Moon Pavilion, didn't you smell the scent of fried potato balls at all?"

Ryota froze for a moment. What kind of logic was that supposed to be?!

Back then, after he'd returned from the Dungeon for the first time, his mind had been filled with nothing but how to complete the main quest—who had time to sniff out whether there were fried potato balls in the air or not?!

"Ah… I see, you mean you were near the Moon Pavilion that day too, Lady Hestia?"

"That's right! That time!"

Hestia nodded repeatedly,

"I could tell at a glance you were a top-tier genius, I was going to approach you, but… but the fried potato balls were just too delicious…"

"If only I'd eaten a little less, uuuu… if you'd joined my Hestia Familia sooner, I could've trampled that flat-chested witch under my feet long ago!"

"Now it's too late, everything's too late… uuuu…"

Watching this blue-ribbon goddess drown in her own heartbreak, Ryota was half amused and half helpless, completely at a loss for how to comfort her.

If he actually told her that he'd already crossed out the Hestia Familia in his mind from the start, would this little loli goddess faint on the spot?

"Alright then!"

Hestia suddenly jumped to her feet and strode right up to Ryota.

Her petite frame tilted her head back to look at him, her cheeks tinged pink with excitement.

Ryota instinctively stepped back half a step, but then forced himself to stop.

Too close.

Close enough that he could catch the faint, pleasant fragrance coming off her body.

While Ryota was momentarily distracted, Hestia abruptly raised her hand and, with an overly serious expression, declared,

"Ryota, quit the Loki Familia! Come join my Hestia Familia! I'll update your Status every day, feed you fried potato balls, room and board included!"

For a second, the entire room went completely still.

Hephaestus, who had been quietly sitting behind them, froze, a throbbing vein pulsing on her forehead.

She took a few deep breaths, and with the look of someone who'd seen this countless times before, sighed tiredly,

"This idiot…"

Standing nearby, Tsubaki couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing with a pfft:

"Oh my, Lady Hestia, you're trying to poach someone already?"

Ryota was just about to open his mouth to politely decline, running calculations on how best to reject her without crushing her feelings.

After all, this goddess was so honest and straightforward it left him completely unprepared.

Who the heck tries to make someone leave their Familia the very first time they meet them?!

Just as he was about to speak, a familiar voice sounded from the doorway.

"Well well, you little shorty, you actually dare poach from me? You've got some nerve!"

In all of Orario, the only one who would dare call Hestia a "little shorty" like that—was Loki.

"Hmph! What are you doing here, you flat-chested witch!"

"I only slept in a bit, and already you're trying to steal my precious find?"

Loki stepped into the room, standing beside Ryota.

"This one's the same as my dear Ais, you hear me? Not for sale! So you, you unclaimed little—shorty—"

At those words, Ryota's lips twitched ever so slightly.

—Unclaimed?

He caught the key bit of information hidden behind Loki's teasing tone.

"So Bell Cranel… hasn't shown up yet? Or maybe—he doesn't even exist in this world?"

He let his gaze drift over Hestia once more.

Sure enough, this blue-ribbon loli goddess, inexplicably appearing here at the Hephaestus headquarters, was still in her "no supporters, living in a basement, surviving on fried potato balls" phase.

The story's timeline was even earlier than he'd thought.

At his side, the two goddesses were still bickering.

"Who are you calling unclaimed! I am the goddess who will one day recruit the greatest Familia in the world! Just wait and see, you flat-chested witch!"

Hestia put her hands on her hips, puffing up her chest in a futile attempt to beat Loki in the intimidation department.

"By the time you manage that, Ryota here will have already conquered Orario twice over."

"You—! Just you wait! I will steal him away!"

"Better fix up your basement's ventilation first!"

"Argh! Flat-chested witch, go die!"

"Too bad I won't, and I'll bring Ryota to come taunt you at your basement door every single day!"

"…."

Watching the two goddesses, who were getting more and more fired up, Ryota wisely took two steps back.

So this was what people called a battlefield of love?

The air between Hestia and Loki was practically sparking now, and they were even starting to physically push each other.

The red-haired onee-san who had been silent all this time finally couldn't take it anymore. She shouted,

"That's enough, you two!"

Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried a certain divine authority belonging to the Goddess of Smithing.

Hestia and Loki both froze, their mouths still twitching, but they wisely shut up. Only their eyes continued to shoot sparks at each other.

Sighing, Hephaestus finally turned her attention back to Ryota.

"So? You came here to see me—what kind of weapon do you want?"

Ryota shook his head lightly.

"I don't want a weapon."

"I want to learn smithing."

The room instantly fell into a deathly silence again.

Everyone's eyes locked on Ryota.

Learn smithing?

Someone from the Loki Familia… wanted to learn the skills of the Hephaestus Familia?

What kind of bizarre twist was that supposed to be?

Loki stepped up and placed a hand on Ryota's forehead.

"No fever. So why are you talking nonsense?"