Side: Hestia
Ahem, let's see. Did I pack everything I need?
The dress Bell picked out for me himself yesterday. Check.
A suitable change of clothes I packed beforehand, since I can't let the dress Bell bought get dirty. Check.
[That document] I can use if Hephaestus gives me permission. Check.
A bag for carrying food... is no longer necessary now that I have the money Bell brought home! Ahahahahahaha!
Ahem. Anyway, I'm all ready to attend Ganesha's party... Should I put on a little makeup for the first time in ages? I only have the cream and face powder I got as free gifts when I bought the clothes... Ah, it's not like I'm doing anything elaborate. It should be fine!
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Hestia applying simple makeup (30 minutes)
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Mm, this should do. How long has it been since I last wore makeup...? If I remember right, the last time was at Athena's tea party, about five thousand years ago in Heaven. I have no idea whether I did a decent job.
"My Goddess, are you ready to go—"
"Hm? Bell, you're here. I dressed up a little because I'm going to a party today. Does it suit me?"
"Uh... uh..."
"Hm. What is it? Your face is red. Are you sick?"
"No... um, well...!"
"Hmm... Do you have a fever?"
For some reason, Bell's face had turned bright red and he couldn't speak. Was he ill somewhere?
My hands were a little sticky from putting on makeup just now, but when I walked over and pressed my forehead to Bell's, hmm, he did seem a little warm?
"B-b-b-b..."
"Bell, I think you have a slight fever. We have some money now, so you should rest well today and tomorrow and make sure you eat something good."
"Y-yes, ma'am!"
"All right. I'm going to the party, then I'll be staying at Hephaestus's place for a few days. Don't get hurt, and be sure to stay safe, understand?"
"Y-yes! I absolutely won't get hurt!"
"Good. I'll be off, then! Though, come to think of it..."
Hmm, maybe it really doesn't suit me...? Let's see, did they say this was how you made someone fall for you?
I lightly raised one foot, relaxed both arms, and spun around on the spot. The blue off-shoulder dress Bell picked out himself yesterday spread wide, showing off all its beauty. This should have made enough of an impression, right?
"Well? Aren't I in top form today?"
"Y-yes. Yes! Of all the times I've seen you, my Goddess, you're the... um... ah... the most beautiful...!"
"A-ahem! Naturally! Of course I am! Ahahahaha!"
"You really are... beautiful..."
Honestly... Even if he did have a fever, saying something like that with his face burning so red was unfair, wasn't it...?
"I-is that so...? Well, I'm leaving now, so watch the house!"
"It's nighttime. Shall I walk you there?"
"Hmm, it's fine. Since it's a party where so many gods will be present, nothing will happen. Rather than worry about me, worry about yourself. Your fever's already risen so much that you're completely red."
"U-um, yes... Have a safe trip. Take care of yourself!"
"All right, all right. Make sure you get plenty of rest, okay?"
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The Goddess of the Hearth, en route
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...He was like this in Heaven too, but Ganesha still hasn't managed to fix that bizarre sense of his even after coming down to the Lower World.
I... I... I have to pass through that hideous gate once going in and once going out...! Do his children pass through it every day by virtue of having the mental fortitude of heroes...?! (???: Every day is an SAN check!)
"Oh, isn't that Takemikazuchi, the leading representative of the Poor Familia? Hey~ Ahahaha!"
"Ah, isn't that Takemikazuchi with the miserable, depressed face he wears all year long? Hey there~ Heehee!"
"You damned gods!"
Hmm... As expected, Takemikazuchi was being singled out for attack. This is my chance to hurry inside...!
...The instant I slipped quickly inside, it felt as though I made eye contact with Takemikazuchi way off in the distance.
Hestia! Help me out here!
...Sorry! I'm sorry!
Hestiaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!
Desperately suppressing my presence—sway, sway—I passed through the enormous Ganesha's [between the legs], and a packed banquet hall appeared before me, as if nearly every god in Orario had gathered there.
Not long after Hestia entered, Ganesha, the host of today's banquet, appeared atop the platform before anyone realized it.
"Mm, today too, I am Ganesha! To all of you gathered here, I am Ganesha!"
"Ganesha! Ganesha! Ganesha!"
"I feel very Ganesha that so many friends from my homeland have gathered at today's banquet! I love you all as much as Ganesha himself!"
"Ganesha! Ganesha! Ganesha!"
"There is much to talk about, but this year as well, in three days' time we plan to hold Monsterphilia in the usual Ganesha fashion! I ask for your Ganesha cooperation! I am Ganesha!"
"Ganesha! Ganesha! Ganesha!"
When the host's booming speech calling together the divine beings assembled here, along with the cheers chanting Ganesha's name, came to an end, the party began in earnest.
The gods around the room formed their own little groups and chatted among themselves.
The banquet was buffet-style. Round tables draped in pure white cloth were piled with foods of every kind, while plump, springy fruits sat upon them as well, each giving off its own fragrance. Throughout the hall, where footsteps and conversation never ceased, waiters moved about with trays and served alcohol.
One look around the god-filled banquet hall was enough to make it seem as though nearly every god in Orario had gathered here.
The number of invitations sent for a divine banquet varied according to the hosting Familia's wealth, meaning that attendance depended on the scale of the host.
Since Ganesha Familia was one of the foremost Familias in Orario, naturally many gods had been invited. That even meant the patron gods of poor Familias could receive invitations.
"Waiter, could you bring me a footstool?"
"Ah, yes."
Amid the uninterrupted hubbub, Hestia called to a waiter in a composed voice as she sampled the wide variety of food. It was merely that she was too short—140 centimeters—for her hands to properly reach the tongs on the tables, so she calmly asked the waiter—repeatedly—for a footstool.
Normally, she might have brought airtight containers and desperately packed food away for Bell, who would be waiting at the Familia home. But there were two reasons why the current Hestia did not do so, and that behavior never came to pass.
First, she had become emotionally settled by acquiring the fifty thousand valis—five million won—that Bell had accepted, embarrassed though he was, with the future in mind. She no longer had to worry about tomorrow's meal, so her heart calmed down and there was no need to panic.
Second, Bell had said something when he left the Familia home to buy her clothes himself: "As for running the Familia, there's also the matter of raising the prestige of the goddess attending the party, right?" If she wore the outfit Bell bought her himself and acted so disgracefully, then setting aside her own dignity, wouldn't Bell—her only child—be ridiculed as well...? That was what she found herself thinking.
Those two reasons were why she did not show off a destitute appearance and simply ate normally, like everyone else.
"Hey, the loli king of tits is here."
"But she's alive?"
"Hey, maybe it's because I haven't seen her in a while, but doesn't she look prettier than before?"
"Now that you mention it, she does. And that isn't just her usual chest-string outfit dressed up a little—it's a completely new dress, isn't it?"
"Hey, hey, I heard a rumor yesterday that a busty loli and a white rabbit went on a date in the shopping district. Maybe she picked up a pretty decent child?"
Unlike a member of the Poor God Familia Alliance, she was walking around in a new dress with an air of leisure, so naturally she drew the gods' attention. She did not mingle with the other Familias and instead leisurely ate while dragging a waiter around with her—she had asked for footstools so many times that one had been assigned to her exclusively. Gods who knew of Hestia's circumstances before could not help but notice.
Then...
"Hestia? Looks like life's treating you better?"
"?"
A familiar voice suddenly sounded beside Hestia, and its owner revealed herself.
Hair like flames, and a crimson dress.
Her features were delicate yet sharp, as though displaying the weapons she held within her.
And above all, the black leather eyepatch covering half of her beautiful face made her identity abundantly clear.
"Hephaestus!"
"That's right. It's been a while. I'm glad you look healthy too, Hestia. You're dressed so nicely, and on top of that, you're wearing makeup for the first time in ages, even if it is faint... Wasn't the last time you put makeup on almost seven thousand years ago?"
"Haha, you're wrong, Hephaestus! Two thousand years after that, I put makeup on once more to attend Athena's tea party, so my last time was five thousand years ago!"
"Really? Either way, enough time passed that you should have completely forgotten how, but it looks like you somehow managed it. You haven't lost your touch."
"Hmph!"
As she smiled lightly and shook her head, her waist-length red hair swayed beautifully. The scarlet strands reflected the ceiling lights in every direction and gave off a lucid glow like polished diamond. Thinking that it was beautiful no matter how many times she saw it, Hestia approached her with a smile full of delight.
"Anyway, I'm really glad you came here!"
"What are you talking about? Let me say this in advance: I'm not lending you even one more valis from now on. Though, judging by what you're wearing, it seems you earned some money, so I doubt you're going to say that. That's the dress they sell for twelve thousand valis in the southern shopping district, right? You aren't going to beg me for money when you can afford that, are you?"
"Come now, if you say it like that, it sounds as though I've been constantly begging you, Hephaestus!"
"Am I wrong?"
"...T-that's rude!"
"Pfft."
"Uuuugh...!"
It was not wrong. After coming down from Heaven, Hestia had spent three months freeloading at Hephaestus Familia and doing nothing but eating—though she did do one big thing, exactly one. Recently, when Hephaestus's patience ran out, she had been kicked out and only barely managed to create her Familia.
Even after that, she had frequently sought Hephaestus out to beg for money, ask for food, and plead for help. Thinking, What are friends for?, Hephaestus had introduced her to an abandoned church she could use as a home, as well as a potato puff part-time job where she could at least earn some money.
"But what's with that dress? You only have a complete novice of a child in your Familia, and yet you bought such an expensive dress?"
"Hmm... How should I put this...? There's a complicated story behind it, but I didn't buy it with illegally earned money. I suppose you could call it... compensation. It's a long story, really."
"Hmm... Tell me later when you have time. I smell something that sounds very interesting."
"Well, maybe it is..."
The two were chatting warmly when, accompanied by the click of heels, the [Goddess of Beauty] suddenly approached them.
"Hehe, you two are still close. I'm jealous."
"Uh... Freya?"
Before they had a chance to react, Freya, the [Goddess of Beauty], had walked up to them.
As befitting the Goddess of Beauty, the moment Freya joined the two women who had already been drawing others' eyes, it felt as though the caliber of beauty among them abruptly rose.
Freya, who seemed blessed by the very concept of [beauty], let her long silver hair sway as she approached Hestia.
"...What are you doing here?"
It was Hephaestus who answered her quiet question.
"Ah, we ran into each other just outside. It had been so long since we'd seen one another that I greeted her, and she asked me to walk around the banquet hall with her."
"Ah... Is that so. I understand."
The silver-haired goddess, who always wore a meaningful smile, spoke to the black-haired goddess whose mood seemed to have darkened.
"Hmm...? Could I be interrupting something?"
"It isn't that. It's just..."
Hestia furrowed her brow slightly, looked up at Freya, and continued.
"It feels like I smell... a thieving cat somewhere."
"Hee...? Before I came here, I petted a stray cat once. Could that be why? Hestia, your intuition... no, your sense of smell is quite good."
"Hmm... Maybe."
"Hehehehehehe..."
"Hehehehehehe..."
"Hey, you two...? I don't know what this is about, but could you please stop...?"
Just as Hephaestus was about to try and stop the incredible battle of wills about to unfold, an extremely frivolous voice came from somewhere.
"Heeeyyy, Hephy~ Freya~ shrimp!"
"Then again, there was one more unruly nuisance here who's even more irritating than you and flies around everywhere without a shred of sense."
"Oh my, how frightening."
Hestia had been staring Freya down under the alarm of some inexplicable instinct, but she naturally lifted her head, looked at the god with the same front and back, and let out a long sigh.
"Sigh, it's Loki."
"Why did you come here too...?"
"What's this? It looks like such a fun place, so are ye saying I'm not allowed to come? It's a feast today, ain't it? A feast! Good grief... As if a shrimp who can't read the mood to save her life would know anything about a place like this."
Creak.
"Hestia, you'll damage your teeth. Relax your jaw."
Taunted by Loki, who was a full two heads taller than her, Hestia kept her face calm, but her jaw made a terrifying sound without restraint.
She needed no other descriptor. Loki was simply her enemy.
"Come to think of it, why are you wearing a dress for once, Loki? You usually only wear men's clothes."
"-----Heehee, ain't it obvious? I heard somewhere that the shrimp would be coming here, so I dressed u—what the hell?"
"Hmm? This? Ah, Loki, you can't wear something like this, can you? If you did, it would slide right down to your waist."
"..."
"Well, someone whose front and back are equally flat might not be able to wear this. If you did, you'd just become the leading trendsetter of the missing-top fashion."
"...What did ye say?"
"Wow... Isn't the dress you're wearing terribly pitiful too? A dress meant to emphasize the chest is somehow emphasizing your back instead. Are you trying to show off your erector spinae muscles?"
"Grrrrrrrrr!"
"How you ever thought of wearing such a dress with a body that doesn't evoke even a speck of maternal affection, I simply..."
Sway.
"...cannot..."
Sway.
"...understand."
Sway sway sway!
"...Wah."
"Wah?"
"Waaaaaah! Just you wait, ye cursed wench!"
Having done nothing but take brutal hit after brutal hit of facts, Loki could not even recover her losses. Far from a strategic retreat, she had no choice but to flee in overwhelming defeat...
"Ooh, this time Hestia won in a landslide without even having a close match."
"Something... something is happening..."
"What is this... It's strange..."
Unlike before, the other gods could only murmur at the sight of Hestia utterly crushing Loki.
"Hmph, I won!"
"...Loki has really mellowed out, hasn't she?"
"That? She just looks like a petty brat to me."
"Well... I've been quite close with Loki since we were in Heaven. If we're talking history, I've known her for as long as you've known Hephaestus. When we were in Heaven, she was much sharper than she is now."
"Well... If you, who have known her for so long, say so, then I suppose that's how it is."
"We just have an enduring connection."
Hephaestus, who had been watching from behind, smiled wryly and continued.
"Maybe it's because she has children now... I'm telling you, she became that mellow in less than a hundred years after coming down here. I suppose children really are wonderful."
"...I don't quite like being lumped in with that one, but I do agree that children are wonderful."
"Come to think of it, you praised that child who joined your Familia so much, didn't you? Do you like him that much?"
"Of course... I do. I really do. He's a child far too good for me."
"Hehe, it seems you found a wonderful child. Well then, I'll excuse myself. Enjoy the party."
Watching Freya, who had arrived like a storm and departed quietly, Hestia merely murmured softly with eyes devoid of light.
"...Cat. I smell a cat. The smell of a thieving cat..."
She only stared intently and muttered until Freya had blended into the crowd and disappeared from view entirely.