"..."
Hephaestus lifted her teacup and looked at Freya thoughtfully.
The earlier outrageous remarks had already faded, but Hephaestus knew they were like poisoned weapons. Even if they left no wounds, the poison had already seeped into the hearts of the other goddesses.
Normally, based on what Hephaestus knew of her friends, Artemis, Hestia, and the others would never cross the line of chastity.
Whether a hundred years passed or ten thousand, chastity was that important to a virgin goddess. But now, what kind of effect would Freya's [poison] have on Artemis and the others? As the aloof goddess of beauty, why was Freya so concerned with the boy? It was almost as though she were deliberately guiding the conversation, pushing the boy's relationships with the other goddesses forward...
Hephaestus drank her tea and stopped thinking about it.
Whatever the answer was, Bell Cranel would definitely benefit from this tea party.
In that case, Hephaestus had no reason to dwell on it.
"Hestia, you don't need to keep pressing her. Judging by Artemis's reaction, she definitely kissed the boy on her own, and she's already used to kissing him."
Hephaestus set aside her thoughts and joined the conversation.
"Huh?! Orion and I haven't kissed that many times!"
By the time Artemis realized she had said the wrong thing, the words had already reached the goddesses' ears.
"Ahhh! Artemis has only known Bell for a few days and she's already done something like that, and she still says she isn't a vixen!"
Hestia glared fiercely at her friend.
"So this is what Artemis is like in private..."
Astraea softly chimed in.
"No, I'm not?! Besides, aren't you the same, Astraea?"
Artemis tried to find an ally.
"Sorry, but aside from letting him rest his head on my lap, I haven't done anything else."
The corners of Astraea's lips lifted as she added, "After all, I'm not as lustful as Artemis."
"Ugh..."
Artemis was left speechless.
The goddesses' clear voices mingled together, turning into a private chat about hidden love.
Bell Cranel was not part of the tea party, but the topic continued to revolve around him.
"Come to think of it, Freya has always helped children with tragic backgrounds. Bell Cranel clearly doesn't fall into that category, does he?"
Hephaestus found a blind spot.
"That's right. At Denatus, Freya even said she wouldn't mind letting Bell join her Familia."
Hestia blinked and looked toward the silver-haired goddess. "Freya, do you have feelings for Bell too?"
"Don't worry. The distance between that boy and me is different from everyone else here. Artemis knows that too, doesn't she?"
Freya tossed the question to the Moon Goddess.
"Ah... mm..."
Artemis froze for half a second, then slowly nodded.
"Freya, I misunderstood you before. You're actually pretty reliable. From now on, when something's bothering me, I'll come to you for advice."
Hestia spoke with a smile.
Artemis had actually encouraged the girls to stall her on purpose. A vixen who would betray her for love was no longer worthy of trust!
Hestia was certain she had found a new ally.
As the goddess of beauty who governed [Love], Freya understood romance well, yet had never experienced it herself. Such a noble and kind existence was worthy of trust.
"Of course. I'll prepare a discreet way for Hestia to contact me so no one else finds out."
It had only been a casual comment, but Freya immediately began putting it into practice.
She looked at Hestia with a friendly smile. "I'll prepare delicious snacks too. You can eat as much as you like."
"Really? That's great!"
Hestia's life was not exactly difficult now, but habits from the past made it hard for her to resist an offer of free food and drink.
"Oh, right. I need to bring some food back for Bell..."
Hestia suddenly remembered her original plan.
"This isn't a banquet where you can just pack up whatever you want. Besides, didn't Hestia eat most of it herself?"
Hephaestus complained, but still went and brought over a takeout box.
She opened the box and glanced at the table.
Several plates of all sizes were already piled up in front of Hestia, and the desserts that had once seemed more than plentiful were almost gone.
"Why don't we make some ourselves?"
Freya looked toward the inner room and suggested, "There's a kitchen and ingredients here anyway."
"That sounds great. I want to give Bell snacks I made with my own hands!"
Hestia's thoughts jumped around like a child's.
Amid the goddesses' laughter, a baking session slipped into the middle of the tea party.
However, while the initial idea was lovely, the result was that Astraea handled every step of the process.
"Ugh... Don't put away the food Freya made! If you do, won't the snacks I made become the worst-tasting ones?"
Hestia protested.
"Freya is still here, you know?"
Astraea reminded her softly.
"It's fine. I was only trying it out. I didn't really want the boy to eat the sweets I made anyway."
Freya calmly turned away.
"..."
Artemis looked at Freya's back, thoughts unreadable.
The dessert commotion soon passed. After a round of attempts, everyone unanimously decided to use the snacks Astraea had made as the take-home gift.
"Wait, why are there hearts on this takeout box?"
Hestia frowned.
"It's just decoration. It doesn't look bad, does it?"
Hephaestus studied it for a moment.
She had a feeling those pink hearts had not been there at first. Had one of the goddesses deliberately drawn them while they were in the kitchen?
"Doesn't that make it a love-filled gift from Astraea to Bell?"
Hestia asked, puffing out her cheeks.
"What can we do? This is a goddess's tea party, after all. If we sent him something subpar, it would lower the goddesses' dignity."
Hephaestus shrugged.
"Subpar..."
Freya repeated dispiritedly.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to criticize you. Anyway, aside from Astraea, nothing the rest of us made can really be called tasty."
Hephaestus quickly explained.
"Astraea must have practiced cooking so hard just to win Orion's favor."
Artemis seized the chance to retaliate.
"In that case, did the boy confess to Astraea because she gave off that good-wife feeling?"
Freya smoothly picked up the topic.
"Exactly. Astraea is way too seductive! You should learn from Freya. Even if you're feminine, you have to restrain yourself. You can't go around seducing Bell like a vixen!"
Hestia delivered her judgment.
"I only let him rest his head on my lap. I didn't do anything else..."
Astraea emphasized her history with the boy.
"..."
Hephaestus silently looked at them.
She understood that another storm was about to arrive.
"But when it comes to lap pillows, wouldn't Astraea's femininity only stand out even more?"
A faint trace of jealousy colored Artemis's voice.
She imagined it for a moment. If the boy were lying on Astraea's lap, then with that beautiful, alluring figure of hers, it would absolutely be a gentle paradise capable of tempting a man into ruin.
After all, Astraea's rounded peaks were filled with feminine beauty.
"I think I can more or less imagine why the boy confessed."
Freya spoke meaningfully.
It was as if she were saying Astraea had seduced him first, and that was why Bell Cranel had fallen for her.
"Astraea is a lecher who's in heat every day!"
Hestia loudly handed down her verdict.
What annoyed her most was Astraea saying that she had only given him a lap pillow. Hestia had stayed by Bell's side for more than two months, yet she had never done anything like that!
And Astraea's attitude was practically saying that she would do even more embarrassing things in the future, with no intention of reflecting on herself at all.
"Ugh... The order of events was different. I don't want to talk about this with you all..."
A blush spread across Astraea's face.
...
Watching, laughter, jealousy, questioning, shame...
Amid those countless emotions, there was also a silver divine will that was impossible to read.
Before they knew it, the tea party had reached its end.
The takeout box sat on the table, and its adorable pink hearts seemed to whisper of someone's love.