The Puppeteer of the DanMachi World

A wall was built around the area. Senior blacksmiths and architects from the Goibniu Familia handled the construction, quickly enclosing a base of operations.

The outer section of the church was demolished, turning the original church into a "hall," while a villa began to rise beside it.

The villa, training grounds, and walls were gradually forming a complete base.

After all, this was the Hera Familia. They had money to spare.

They owed Ming Ge far too many favors. At the very least, they could not be stingy in this regard.

In truth, Hera was quite dissatisfied with Ming Ge's refusal, so she could only pour her efforts into this instead.

A few more days passed. During that time, Ming Ge also learned of the decisions made by the Hera Familia and Zeus Familia.

The campaign against the Black Dragon would continue—but this time, they had to be fully prepared, with at least a chance to retreat.

Ming Ge could understand that. There was a vast difference between a true campaign and a battle meant as a probe.

That way, the odds of the two great Familias preserving their main forces would not be low.

Ming Ge could only secretly pray that Meitellia's family did not get wiped out, lest she be heartbroken.

But before that, both the Zeus Familia and Hera Familia needed to learn Flight Magic.

The Zeus Familia had people from the Hera Familia teaching them, so Ming Ge only needed to teach the members of the Hera Familia.

As a result, Ming Ge developed good relationships with quite a few girls from the Hera Familia during this time.

At the same time, the entire Familia was celebrating for them. They were even considering holding a wedding for the two of them first, while Hera herself was considering whether to bestow a Divine Blessing upon Ming Ge.

Though the Hera Familia had no male members, making an exception for their beloved favorite was not a problem. At the very least, they could not let Ming Ge run off to the Zeus Familia.

Although the two Familias were on good terms, they still had to maintain the appearance of disliking one another.

Naturally, that was because Zeus was a womanizer, while Hera was a possessive mess. Their marital quarrels had become something of a tradition, to the point that the entire Heavenly Realm knew about them.

Zeus had even been the one to ask Hera to invite Freya to take part in the "salvation of the lower world" operation, only for Hera and Freya to clash, costing Freya quite a few Familia members and creating bad blood between them.

That, too, was because Zeus had set his sights on Freya, only to be shut down by Hera.

With the two chief gods acting like that, those beneath them could only play along.

After all, no matter how nicely one put it, Familia members were essentially the private property of their chief gods.

The Divine Blessing was merely a catalyst that accelerated human growth. Even if the Divine Blessing vanished, the abilities their bodies had already evolved would remain.

But the Divine Blessing also came with a sealing function.

Even a level 9 could instantly become as powerless as an ordinary person. That alone was enough to place the chief gods in the highest position, ensuring that greedy mortals would never entertain thoughts of overthrowing them.

"I wonder what Hera will do."

Ming Ge murmured.

Hera had originally intended to bestow a Divine Blessing upon Ming Ge, but she ultimately abandoned the idea.

The Hera Familia was huge, with many members. Given Ming Ge's talent and potential, his Blessing would inevitably need frequent updates, but Hera could not manage that.

Moreover, Ming Ge stood out far too much in the rough profession of adventuring. His gentle nature and extraordinary talent had drawn the eyes of many girls in only a few days.

Given more time, even the main force of the Hera Familia might develop romantic feelings for Ming Ge. That was something Hera could not tolerate.

A son-in-law was one thing, but letting that son-in-law build a harem among her many daughters... no one could stand that.

Flash Step Magic

"So tired."

Ming Ge stretched.

He had been staying with the Hera Familia this whole time, and dealing with those girls with their strange personalities had left him mentally exhausted.

Especially that Amazon Empress. She practically did not treat him like a man at all. Who knew how many times she had taken advantage of him?

Or perhaps, among Amazons, the status of men and women was simply reversed.

Ordinary Amazons could sleep with someone and still get paid afterward. To them, that was an incredible bargain.

The Empress, on the other hand, was part of the Hera Familia, so her private life could never be as casual as that of other Amazons.

Even so, she was far bolder than other women in everyday interactions.

The other girls also teased Ming Ge often. As a weakling, he had no way to resist and could only enjoy it.

Fortunately, Meitellia did not seem to mind. Even when she saw it, she merely smiled and let it pass. That only emboldened the other girls further, while also making Hera completely abandon the idea of taking Ming Ge into her Familia.

In truth, Ming Ge did not want to join the Hera Familia either. If he had to choose, he would rather pick a Familia that was starting from scratch.

With his abilities, he could completely shape that Familia into whatever he wanted. Besides, with the Hera Familia around, Ming Ge did not need to worry about his safety at all.

Resources, connections, strength—he basically did not need to worry about anything. Under those circumstances, Ming Ge would naturally choose "freedom."

"Still, progress has been pretty slow. Not everyone can be Alfia."

Thinking of the girls' performance over the past few days, Ming Ge could not help shaking his head.

The Hera Familia had quite a few first-class adventurers above level 6, but even the Empress's learning progress had not been especially fast. Ming Ge's new theories were simply too advanced for them.

At this rate, it would take at least one or two months to learn Flight Magic.

As for Alfia... Ming Ge had refined his Flight Magic together with her. In terms of talent, even Ming Ge was far inferior to her. He only had a slight edge in the way he thought.

Well, not just a slight edge.

For this world, the mindset of the Fourth Calamity was practically a dimensionality-reducing strike. Even the gods could not compare in certain respects, much less Alfia.

"I'll go relax in the Dungeon."

Ming Ge rose to his feet. After informing Meitellia, he left.

Someone was still following behind him as a personal guard, and Ming Ge pretended not to notice.

This time, however, it was not a private request from Meitellia, but the Hera Familia's protection of Ming Ge. That also proved the Hera Familia's recognition of him.

This trip to the Dungeon was still meant to test magic, while also giving him a chance to relax.

Some time ago, Ming Ge had created what were known as cultivation techniques.