"Come on. I'll report my expedition details to you, Miss Adventurer Consultant." Leon said with a smirk, his hand gently ruffling Eina's hair.
Eina blinked, stunned, then her expression lit up. "Ah… alright. Come with me, Leon. Tell me everything."
'Maybe this bond isn't so fragile after all.'
They spent two hours together at the Guild headquarters, going over the expedition details in full. Only when everything had been reported and documented did Leon say his goodbyes.
After leaving the Guild, he returned to the library.
At the entrance, a certain goddess sat on the steps, glancing left and right down the street every few seconds.
The moment Hestia spotted Leon, she shot to her feet.
"Leon! Welcome back!" She cried out, tears of joy brimming in her eyes.
Without hesitation, she launched herself at him like a missile, throwing her arms around his neck and wrapping herself around him like a vine.
"I'm back." Leon whispered, kissing her forehead gently.
The way her face lit up in response made everything worth it.
After getting cleaned up, Leon moved into the kitchen and began preparing dinner, a grand feast to mark his return.
Hestia had waited nearly half a month to eat his cooking again. Her eyes sparkled with anticipation as the aroma filled the house.
But just as she was about to dig in—
Creak.
The door opened, and two familiar presences entered uninvited.
"Hestia, eating alone isn't good for you, you know." Hephaestus called out, already making her way toward the kitchen like she owned the place.
"Leon, you got anything for us?" Tsubaki asked, her eyes laser-locked onto the food, her appetite already in overdrive.
"Oh, Hephaestus, Tsubaki, you're here," Leon greeted with a chuckle. "Come, take a seat."
"Yay, let's eat!" Hestia said joyfully, waving them over.
"Everything's ready." Leon confirmed.
Tsubaki didn't need to be told twice. With a swift motion, she sat down and grabbed her chopsticks like a warrior claiming her prize. Hephaestus joined soon after, taking the seat next to Hestia.
With laughter and clinking chopsticks, the four dug in.
"Leon, don't just stand there, eat!" Tsubaki called through a mouthful of food.
"Alright, alright." Leon replied with a smile, sitting down and joining them.
Within minutes, the table was swept clean. The three women leaned back in their seats, clutching their stomachs, thoroughly satisfied.
As Leon started collecting plates and utensils, he spoke casually, "Hephaestus, I need to talk to you about something."
"Hmm? What is it?" Hephaestus asked, raising an eyebrow.
"You'll find out soon." Leon said mysteriously, then disappeared into the kitchen to wash up.
Hephaestus turned to Hestia, eyes narrowing. "Do you know what that's about?"
"Nope." Hestia replied innocently.
Not long after, Hephaestus found out.
Inside Leon's room, she sat in silence, eyes wide.
"You're telling me… you've gained a development ability that can heal gods? And you want to try it on me?" She asked, trying to confirm what she'd just heard.
Leon nodded. "I can't promise results but I want to try. Do you want to?"
Hephaestus didn't hesitate. "Yes. If there's even a sliver of hope, I'll take it."
Golden light, the mark of Divine Healing, gathered at Leon's fingertips. Unlike normal healing magic's soft green glow, this one looked holy.
As Leon's palm hovered near her scarred face, the golden light slowly wrapped around her like a gentle sunrise.
Hephaestus felt it instantly. Her eyes trembled. Her mouth parted slightly.
"It's… working." She whispered.
Leon gave a soft nod. "I knew it."
"Thank you." She said sincerely, her voice almost choked with emotion.
Without replying, Leon focused on the spell.
What lay beneath Hephaestus' iconic eyepatch wasn't just a scar, it was a grotesque distortion of flesh, mangled and terrifying. Even with mental preparation, the sight startled him for a moment but only a moment.
Under the gentle touch of Divine Healing, the twisted flesh began to knit together, cell by cell, as golden particles enveloped her.
Two hours passed in silence.
Meanwhile, outside the room, Hestia and Tsubaki, initially concerned that something had happened, peeked in curiously.
When they saw what was happening, they fell silent. And then, quietly, they sat nearby and waited.
Hope flickered in their eyes as they watched Leon channel the miracle that might just change their friend's life forever.
Both Hestia and Tsubaki were close friends of Hephaestus, and so, naturally, they had been silently praying that her face could be healed.
And when that miracle finally happened, when Hephaestus' face was restored to that of a normal goddess, unscarred and radiant, the two women didn't hesitate for a second.
"Ahhhh!!! Hephaestus! Your face, it's just like ours now! No scars! You don't need to wear that mask anymore!" Hestia squealed with joy, practically leaping into Hephaestus' arms.
"You really don't! It's finally over!" Tsubaki grinned broadly and joined the embrace, the three of them forming a tight, emotional knot.
Hephaestus stood frozen, wide-eyed. "Is it really... healed?"
Her voice was barely a whisper, like she was afraid speaking too loudly would shatter the fragile reality before her.
Seeing her dazed state, Hestia immediately took her hand and tugged gently. "Come on, come look at yourself."
They led her toward the full-length mirror in Leon's room. It hadn't always been there, it was something Hestia had insisted on bringing after she moved in. At the time, Leon had wondered why she'd be so adamant about a mirror. Now he understood.
Hephaestus stood before the mirror. Her eyes widened and her breath caught.
Gone were the gnarled scars she had lived with for so long. Her face looked like it had been untouched by flame or curse. A divine beauty returned to its rightful radiance.
She reached up slowly, fingers brushing her own cheek as if confirming it was real.
Time seemed to stop.
Then suddenly—
"Leon."
She turned around and threw herself into his arms.
"Thank you… Thank you so much…" She whispered, her voice trembling with suppressed emotion.
Her chin rested on his shoulder and her arms clung to him.
Leon blinked, surprised at first, but soon recovered. His hand rose slowly to gently pat her back.
"You're welcome. After all, we're friends, right?"
"…Yeah."
Friends.
'Maybe before. But now… I don't want to just be friends anymore.'
Hestia and Tsubaki stood quietly nearby, watching with warm smiles.
It wasn't long before Hephaestus started visiting more often. In fact, it became a daily thing.
Whether she brought paperwork under the pretext of "working in a quieter place" or said she was there "just to see Hestia," the truth was clear to everyone involved.
Hestia didn't mind. She knew exactly why Hephaestus kept coming back and she said nothing. But that was a story for another day.
Because at the same time this miracle occurred, within the walls of the Starry Library, other transformations were unfolding elsewhere in Orario.
In Loki Familia's Twilight Manor and Astraea Familia's residence, similar scenes played out.
"…W-WHAT?! They all ranked up?! All of them?!"
Loki practically screamed, staring wide-eyed at the updated sheets that Finn handed her.
After returning from the expedition and getting some rest, the familia had gathered for the long-awaited status update and what Loki saw left her utterly speechless.
Anakitty and Alicia, now Level 6.
Bete, Ais, Tione, and Tiona, now Level 7.
Even Lefiya had reached Level 4, her magic stat capped out at an eye-watering S999.
And as if that weren't enough, the others, Gareth, Raul, and even newer recruits, had raised multiple stats to S-rank levels.
Although Finn, Riveria, and Gareth hadn't leveled up, both Finn and Gareth had their stats increased by over 2,000 points. Riveria's magic stat had now breached the A rank.
Loki stood there, swaying slightly, like her spirit was trying to flee her body. She had high hopes as this was a major expedition.
But this?
This was ridiculous.
It was as if they'd returned from a training arc straight out of a myth.
"Finn… tell me everything." Loki finally said, collapsing into a couch with a glazed look.
"Don't worry, I'll explain everything." Finn chuckled.