Chapter 2: Artemis Familia!

In the depth of the woods surrounded by lush forest, there is a small waterfall, with crystal-clear water falling off the height. The scattered water particles covered the area with a thin layer of the misty veil. Below the waterfall, a small lake dyed green by the nearby vegetation shrouded in mist. There was a sound of running water overlapping with the girls' laughter playing in the lake. Waves are rippling on the lake's surface, but it is a pity that there is no one to appreciate the beauty of the scene. After the battle, the girls slowly washed away the dirt and filth left on their bodies with clean water. They were never tired of the feeling of satisfaction after taking a bath. During this time, the girls joyfully chatted with each other and started gossiping about various events of the day. Usually, at this time in the past, the girls would wash their bodies and talk about any exciting thing they discovered during their journey, or discuss what to eat for dinner, etc. But today is a bit different! There was an interesting new topic for them to discuss. "Yuck, my whole body is all slimy due to the sweat~ It doesn't feel good at all..." A light-blue hair and sharp-ear half-elf groaned with a bitter look on her face. And beside her, several elf girls responded with sympathy. For the cleanliness-obsessed elves, sweating all over the body due to long battles is particularly uncomfortable. "Lante, don't say such a misleading statement. If the Lady Goddess hears it, you will be punished!" At the group's center, a red-haired woman warned the half-elf girl seriously. "Hehe~" The half-elf girl called Lante touched her head and smirked with her tongue out, trying to act cute. She tried to bypass this conversation. Lante was the youngest member of the familia. She was only thirteen years old. She was an outcast abandoned by her parents on a barren mountain. But, luckily the goddess of her familia picked her up and adopted her into the familia. Under the care of the goddess and the friendly atmosphere in the familia, she has also developed a cheerful and lively character despite her past. Especially in recent periods, she likes to free herself and discuss some romantic topics due to adolescence or rebellious mentality. "Hump! It's all the fault of that human boy! Originally, our dragon hunt was going well, but suddenly he came out of nowhere and shocked everyone. And not to forget the pack of dire wolves he brought with him! All of us had to clean up his mess!" Lante waved her little fist in the water, feeling annoyed. If Sirius stood in front of her now, she would undoubtedly give him a fist! At that time, maybe she would forgive him graciously after he begged for forgiveness. After all, although Lante is young, she has a falna bestowed by her goddess, and she is a level 2 adventurer. Her physical ability is completely beyond that of an ordinary human. Even if Sirius has a physical fitness far superior to ordinary people for some reason, it is still not enough to confront a level 2 adventurer. In this world, Falna is the grace, sometimes called blessing, given by Gods and Goddesses to their familia members. It can also be called a cheat or plug-in given by the gods to their familia members to improve one's strength by training or fighting against stronger opponents and monsters and develop the potential hidden beneath one's body. There is nothing wrong with saying that Falna is a standard golden finger for all adventurers. Lante was not mad about Sirius bringing with him a group of monsters. What made her speechless was that Sirius had no strength, but he dared to blindly run around in the forest's depths. When Sirius passed out in a coma before, her goddess confirmed that he had no Falna on him. It meant that he was just an ordinary body, having never joined a familia. But such an ordinary guy ran around in the depths of the forest infested with monsters. Does he have a death wish or something like that? "Maybe that boy just got lost in the forest, and met the dire wolves due to bad luck? Besides, didn't we manage to hunt down the dragon anyway? Lante, don't keep complaining!" The red-haired human named Rethusa reluctantly shook her head and comforted the sullen half-elf girl. As the captain and the oldest member of the familia, Rethusa often plays the role of a mama alongside the goddess. Because the other girls in the familia are younger than her, and many are even underage. "Even if you say so, I can't help but feel that we experienced a Pass Parade for no reason, and I am still angry thinking about it..." Lante pouted with a bit of resentment on her face. After all, she was only thirteen years old, and it's impossible for her not to feel aggrieved in such a situation. This is not about strength but just a matter of experience and mentality. Pass Parade is when someone brings in a new group of monsters when the familia is already busy dealing with another one. It is one of the vicious acts an adventurer can do to another familia. The other girls in the familia can more-or-less understand the situation, so they all wisely choose not to participate in the topic between the two. They all started chatting with each other in private. "Speaking of which, that boy looks so handsome. He's totally my type!" "Ah, if you say so, I also feel the same way. He looked very cool and handsome when he was desperately fighting the dragon!" "Just like a hero in an adventure story! I can understand~" Around the lake, the young and romance-deprived girls started a heated discussion with blushing faces, each more active than another. On topics related to romance, all of these girls are unavoidably enthusiastic about it. But, because their goddess presided over chastity, one of the Big 3 Virgin Goddesses, Artemis. Under the oppression of their strict goddess, there is a rule prohibiting any form of romance and physical contact with opposite sexes in the familia. And these girls who are in the budding stage of their youth have been suppressed for too long. Therefore they are more passionate about love in private. In case, one day, their goddess, Artemis, somehow got enlightened and decided to fall in love, it is estimated that they will completely let go of themselves like birds released from the cage. When such a time comes, the first thing they will do is find a decent boyfriend and bring it to their goddess and release the sour smell of love to her~ After seeing that the girls' discussions tended to intensify, Rethusa reluctantly spoke up. "You girls, it's enough about this topic! The lady goddess is not far away, do you want to be trained collectively?" This is the second time for her to bring out the name of her goddess. But who makes the name of the goddess more useful than that of the captain of the familia? Or it should be said that when it comes to the topic related to romance if she didn't bring the name of her goddess, she can't suppress their enthusiasm. "What!? Goddess-sama is so far away, so she must not be able to hear our talk, right?" A brown-haired girl in the family asked with some timidity. "I hate to disappoint you, but I can still hear you talking from this distance!" ...