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It truly was the beginning of a new life.
Just not the kind Hestia had imagined.
Several months later.
…
A teenage boy, about fifteen or sixteen, moved through the forest alongside a black-haired girl with twin ponytails.
The boy's name was Anos Kanzaki.
The girl's name was Hestia.
Their relationship was… somewhat unusual.
"You've grown so fast, Anos, just what I'd expect from my child."
Hestia swayed her twin ponytails happily, a bright smile on her face.
Being near Anos always made her feel strangely comfortable. Even the long and exhausting journey felt far less tedious when she was clinging to him.
The boy she was speaking to calmly grabbed the goddess hanging off him and tugged her cheeks.
If he hadn't already recovered most of his strength in just a few months, with signs of breaking past it entirely, someone his real age in this world could never have supported Hestia's weight like this.
The Ark Sphere's reincarnation system rapidly restored the host's physical growth.
At this rate, Anos would return to his original physical age in less than a month.
"Hestia, I'm not your child."
Anos stated the fact flatly.
Yes, Hestia had technically given birth to him.
But they shared no blood relationship.
The Ark Sphere had used divine power and divine essence to reconstruct its body.
He was a new form of humanity evolved through the divine origin of this world's gods.
At his core, Anos was still far closer to human than to a god.
"Oh come on, you were literally born from me, Anos. That means you're my child, so you should listen to your mother."
Hestia said it in the indulgent tone of a doting parent.
It was true that she didn't feel a blood connection with him.
But she had already rationalized that.
If he were a God-sent child, then she had simply been the vessel that brought him into the world. A lack of blood ties wasn't strange at all.
From another perspective, though, Anos had grown by absorbing her divine power and essence.
So calling him her child didn't feel wrong.
"No, it's you who should listen to me."
Anos continued tugging the goddess's cheeks as he spoke.
Honestly, did this goddess have any sense of planning?
If they followed her decisions, their future would be a disaster.
"Hmph! No, you listen to me, I'm the mom."
Hestia puffed up her cheeks like an angry hamster.
"Pop."
Anos gently pressed both hands against her cheeks.
"Pff—!"
The air immediately escaped.
"Even if you're ridiculously talented, Anos, you still have to listen to me."
Hestia had already witnessed his unbelievable potential.
If he continued growing like this, becoming a god would be inevitable.
"No thanks, if I follow your plans, we'll end up living a miserable life."
Anos shook his head.
What did she expect?
Selling potatoes on the street together?
Or diving into the Dungeon alone and fighting monsters?
He had far more interesting plans than that.
"Moooo!"
Hestia puffed her cheeks again, clearly offended.
This time she launched a new attack.
Twin-tail assault.
Grabbing both ponytails with her hands, she began swinging them dramatically at Anos.
"Hey!"
Just as Hestia was having fun messing around—
A scream suddenly echoed from deep within the forest.
"Ahhh!"
Both Anos and Hestia instantly dropped their playful mood and turned toward the source of the sound.
At the same time, a purple treasure chest icon appeared on Anos's map.
"Hestia, I'll go check it out, Don't wander off."
After saying that, he dashed into the forest and vanished between the trees.
"Anos… be careful…"
Hestia watched his departing figure with a strange feeling.
It was the same bittersweet pride a mother might feel watching her child grow up.
She didn't try to follow him.
During their time together, Anos had already proven his abilities.
From her perspective, he was more than capable of protecting both himself and her.
Gods were forbidden from using divine power in the mortal world. Doing so would result in immediate recall to the heavens.
Most of the time, she was no different from an ordinary person But Anos was different.
Even though he possessed a body that could only be described as heaven-blessed, he wasn't actually a god.
He could receive divine blessings.
Yet he wasn't truly human either.
He wasn't of any existing race.
"…But whatever happens," Hestia murmured softly.
"I'll walk this path with you."
She looked in the direction he had disappeared, imagining countless possibilities for the future.
Whether he became a hero.
Or a god.
Or something entirely different.
She would support him with everything she had.
…
Meanwhile.
Anos moved like the wind through the forest, quickly arriving near the location marked by the purple chest.
A notification appeared.
[ Ding! ]
[ Congratulations: A treasure chest has been triggered. ]
[ Chest Rank: Purple ]
[ Unlock Condition: Recruit Bell Cranel as a Familia member. ]
"…?"
Anos stared ahead.
At the miserable white-haired girl currently being chased through the forest by a wild boar.
His eyebrow twitched.
"You're telling me… that's Bell?"
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