After receiving her golden taiyaki, Tohru devoured the piping hot pastry in a single, terrifying bite.
She swallowed it whole, smacked her lips loudly, and her golden eyes curved into happy, satisfied slits.
"Another one!" she demanded, slamming her hands on the counter.
"Seven hundred yen each," Yuto replied smoothly, not missing a beat.
Tohru's raised hands instantly dropped.
Her entire posture melted from triumphant joy into a puddle of weak disappointment.
Yuto couldn't help but chuckle at the dramatic shift.
Sakura giggled softly at the dragon girl's antics.
Then, holding her own pastry carefully with both hands, the little girl took a tiny, delicate bite.
The moment the warm, sweet red bean paste and fluffy cake hit her tongue, Sakura's dull eyes filled with bright surprise and absolute delight.
She looked exactly like a timid kitten tasting fresh milk for the very first time.
"Delicious!" she whispered, her expression utterly adorable.
Sakura's reaction was nothing like Tohru's loud, feral gluttony.
It was restrained, polite, and incredibly sweet.
Hearing the little girl's soft, genuine praise filled Yuto's chest with a warm, heavy sense of pride.
This was why he loved to cook.
Sakura quickly went back to eating the taiyaki in small, delicate nibbles.
Because the filling was still molten hot, she would purse her lips and blow gently on the pastry before every single bite.
Watching Sakura's perfect manners, Yuto couldn't help but feel a bit moved.
'This is how a proper young lady should eat,' he thought.
He subconsciously cast a sidelong glance at Tohru.
The dragon girl was currently hunched over the counter, staring intensely at Sakura's pastry with unblinking, predatory focus.
She looked exactly like a massive, starving beast waiting for the perfect moment to pounce on its prey.
Yuto let out a silent sigh.
It was his own fault.
He had been completely deceived by Tohru's cute human form!
Clatter—Bang!
Just as Yuto was lamenting his hiring choices, the heavy wooden front door was suddenly yanked open with tremendous, frantic force.
Tohru's head snapped up.
The previously distracted, gluttonous dragon girl instantly became dead serious.
Her golden eyes narrowed into slits, and her posture shifted into high alert.
Yuto felt a wave of relief. She might be a glutton who acted like a child, but at least her combat instincts were sharp.
This focused appearance was exactly what he wanted from a guard dragon.
"Who goes there?!" Tohru barked, her voice low and threatening.
Just as Tohru released her killing intent, a petite curvy figure came sprinting into the restaurant, sobbing uncontrollably.
The strange, blue ribbon tied beneath her chest bounced wildly as she ran.
"Kamisaka! Kamisaka! Kamisaka! Waaaaaahhh!!! Still... no one wants to join my Familia!!!"
Even though she was a literal divine being, Hestia currently gave Yuto the distinct impression that she was emotionally younger than Shouko!
"Hestia, calm down. Take a breath and speak slowly," Yuto sighed, grabbing a napkin to hand to the wailing young goddess.
Standing beside them, Tohru's expression went through a rapid series of changes.
Surprise, deep suspicion, rigid caution, and finally... fear.
She could sense it clearly.
This sobbing, pathetic-looking girl was a god!
Even though she appeared completely weak and defenseless, Tohru could distinctly feel the suffocating, boundless divine power contained within her small body.
It was like standing at the edge of a vast calm ocean, knowing that unfathomable, crushing depths lay hidden just beneath the surface.
"Hiks... today... hiks... I went to work at my part-time job..... and I asked those... his... adventurers again... hiks... and they lied to me!! Waaahhh!!! They all lied to me again!!!"
Although the goddess's rant was broken by loud, ugly sobs, Yuto managed to piece the story together.
"They agreed to listen to your pitch, but then laughed and refused to actually join your Familia, is that it?" Yuto asked softly.
Hestia nodded frantically, wiping her tear-streaked face with the napkin.
Her sorrowful wailing gradually turned into pathetic sniffles.
Then, her teary blue eyes locked onto the half-eaten taiyaki in Sakura's small hands.
She stared at it, her stomach letting out a loud, tragic growl.
Yuto rubbed his temples.
What kind of god is this?! She was literally just a starving brat!
All that terrifying divine power was completely wasted on her.
"Do you want one?" Yuto sighed, resigning himself to his fate.
Hestia nodded slowly, looking up at him with massive, sad puppy-dog eyes.
Yuto let out another deep sigh.
He suddenly felt a sense of doubt regarding all the gods that humanity had revered throughout history.
'Surely not all gods are this pathetic...'
With that blasphemous thought in mind, he turned and walked back into the kitchen.
A minute later, Yuto brought out a fresh, steaming taiyaki and placed it in front of the sniffling goddess.
Hestia's miserable expression instantly vanished, replaced by a radiant, blinding smile of pure joy.
"Thank you, Kamisaka-kun!!!" she cheered.
She grabbed the hot pastry with both hands and took a massive bite.
"Mmm—delicious!"
The crushing sorrow of being a homeless, familia-less god evaporated completely, cured by baked goods!
Tohru, who had backed away to a safe distance, watched Hestia warily.
She leaned over the counter and whispered to Yuto.
"Boss... who exactly is this woman?" Tohru asked, her voice tight with extreme caution.
Yuto chuckled helplessly. "She can be called a goddess, though I admit she doesn't look or act the part at all."
Hearing Yuto casually slander her, Hestia's blue eyes flashed with anger.
But no matter how furious she was, she refused to spit out the delicious food!
She aggressively chewed and swallowed before yelling.
"Kamisaka! I'm a genuine goddess! A very, very ancient and powerful God! Don't speak of me so lightly!" Hestia exclaimed indignantly, before immediately opening her mouth wide to take another undignified bite of her snack.
"Mhm, mhm. Whatever you say, oh ancient one," Yuto deadpanned, scratching his forehead.
Beside him, Tohru's expression shifted into pure shock.
Tohru was a princess of the Chaos Faction.
In her world, the gods were the sworn, eternal enemies of her kind. Because of that ancient war, she had memorized the names and titles of all the major deities.
Hestia.
The ancient Goddess of the Hearth.
One of the supreme Twelve Olympians.
Her divine authority over the sacred flame was absolute. Tohru had never met her personally in her own world, but she had heard the horrifying war stories from the elder dragons.
Tohru had always imagined Hestia as a figure of immense, untouchable divine majesty and solemn grace.
And yet... here she was.
Shoving a bean-paste pastry into her face and crying about being unemployed.
Even though Tohru logically knew this was a Hestia from a completely different dimension, the sheer, utter uselessness of her demeanor was shattering Tohru's worldview
'Is this girl really one of the Twelve Olympians?!' Tohru was both terrified and utterly bewildered.
"Huh? Dragon, why are you looking at me like that?" Hestia asked, pausing mid-chew.
She looked at Tohru with confusion.
The young goddess didn't understand why the beast was staring at her with such a bizarre mix of fear, pity, and total disillusionment.
'We haven't met before, right?' Hestia thought.
Tohru flinched, startled by the direct question.
She forced a stiff, unnatural smile onto her face.
"N-no reason. It is nothing, Goddess-sama," Tohru stammered.
Tohru's panicked overly respectful reply made Hestia's blue eyes narrow thoughtfully.
The young goddess stopped eating entirely.
She put the pastry down, her full attention locking onto the dragon girl.
The sudden intense scrutiny made Tohru incredibly nervous.
She clasped her hands tightly behind her back, her muscles coiling like springs.
If this god decided to launch a surprise attack, Tohru was fully prepared to smash a window and fly away!
"Wh-what is it, Goddess-sama?" Tohru asked, her smile so stiff it looked like someone was physically pulling the corners of her mouth upward with hooks.
Standing behind the counter, Yuto glanced at Hestia, then at the terrified dragon.
He already knew exactly what was about to happen.
The longer Hestia stared at the powerful dragon, the brighter her blue eyes became!
"Dragon! I think highly of you! Become a member of my Familia!!!" Hestia cheered loudly, throwing her hands in the air.
Tohru's mind completely blanked out.
She tilted her head, her brain failing to process the words.
"...Huh?"
It was a meaningless sound born of pure instinct.
"Great Dragon! Come, join the Hestia Familia and become my first familia member! From this day forward, you shall receive my Falna and my protection!" Hestia declared, standing up from her stool and stepping toward the waitress.
Tohru, caught in a state of panic, felt her brain short-circuit.
She truly didn't understand what was happening!
A god... was inexplicably begging a Chaos Dragon to become her follower?
As a princess who had spent her entire life battling the divine, this was the single most ridiculous, absurd request she had ever heard!
"No need to overthink it! By joining my Familia, you will become my most beloved child! The most dazzling, powerful figure in the Hestia Familia! Come on!" Hestia pressed forward, stepping around the counter.
"N-no! Stay back!" Tohru panicked, retreating backward to match the goddess's advance.
Soon, Tohru's back hit the wall of the restaurant.
She was trapped!
Hestia slammed her hands against the wood on either side of Tohru's head, pinning the dragon in a classic kabedon.
Even though Tohru was significantly taller and infinitely physically stronger than the petite goddess, the momentum and sheer weirdness of the situation had completely paralyzed the dragon.
Tohru's face was full of embarrassment and anxiety.
"N-no, Goddess, please forgive me, I don't want to—"
"Liar! I know you want to join me in your heart! Don't hide your true feelings from me!" Hestia shouted passionately, leaning in close.
Seeing his powerful dragon maid about to be emotionally overwhelmed by a desperate goddess, Yuto coughed loudly.
"Hestia?"
"Hold on a second, Kamisaka! Just let me extract a drop of blood and apply my falna to my new familia member first!" Hestia waved him off without looking back.
Yuto felt a wave of pity for the goddess.
'Just what kind of desperate state has she fallen into to resort to mugging employees for followers?'
"Hestia, stop it. Tohru is my employee, please don't sexually harass my staff," Yuto said, his voice taking on a firm edge.
Hestia blinked, looking back at Yuto in surprise.
Chided by the chef, she finally dropped her arms and stepped back, releasing the trapped dragon.
Tohru slumped against the wall, looking at Yuto with the wide eyes of a soldier who had just narrowly escaped a gruesome death!
"Well, if she is your employee, then Kamisaka, as her boss, please order her to join my Familia!" Hestia demanded, looking at him with bright expectant eyes.
"Hestia, I'm pretty sure Tohru is highly unwilling. Let's just drop it," Yuto sighed, glancing at his traumatized waitress.
Hestia's bright, hopeful face instantly stiffened.
"Great Dragon... are you truly unwilling to join me?" she asked, slowly turning her head to look at Tohru.
Her voice was hollow and lifeless.
"I'm very sorry, Goddess, but I refuse," Tohru replied firmly, still trembling slightly.
The rejection struck Hestia like a physical blow!
All the vitality and color drained from her body. She trudged back to her stool and collapsed onto it, looking like a dying child.
"Hiks... I failed again..." Hestia whimpered softly, fresh tears welling up in her eyes.
Yuto didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
'Who on earth would agree to join a Familia when you recruit them by trapping them against a wall like a creep?!'
He had serious doubts about her intelligence.
It was a blasphemous thought, but he couldn't help it!
"Onee-san, please don't cry. Here, you can have the rest of my taiyaki," Sakura offered gently.
Seeing the goddess so heartbroken and dejected, the little girl reached out and pushed her half-eaten pastry toward Hestia.
Sakura had seen how happy the sweet treat made the goddess earlier, so she logically assumed more food would cure her sadness.
Hestia sniffled, stopping her tears.
She looked down at the pastry, and then up at the sweet, innocent little girl offering it to her.
A massive wave of warmth surged through the goddess's heart.
Her spirits instantly revived!
Watching her mood back to pure joy, Yuto was utterly speechless.
'Should I praise the gods for their emotional resilience, or mock them for their microscopic attention spans?'
"Thank you, little one," Hestia beamed.
She snatched the pastry and under Yuto's gaze, shoved the entire half-eaten dessert into her mouth in one bite.
Normal people didn't do that.
You didn't just steal food out of a child's hand and eat it whole!
"Hestia... whats wrong with you?" Yuto muttered in disbelief.
"What?" Hestia asked, her cheeks bulging with red bean paste.
She didn't understand why he was looking at her like she was a monster.
Had she done something wrong? Free food was free food!
The goddess swallowed hard, clearing her throat and finally gave Sakura her full attention.
She hadn't really noticed the quiet little girl when she was busy assaulting the dragon.
But now, looking closely at Sakura's, Hestia felt a massive surge of joy.
'This child... she has an incredible aptitude for magic! She is a promising talent! Perhaps...'
Hestia's blue eyes began to sparkle dangerously.
She leaned closer to Sakura, the exact same predatory look she had given Tohru creeping back onto her face.
Sakura tilted her head, looking at the weird lady in pure confusion.
She didn't understand why the lady was staring at her like a piece of meat.
Watching the scene unfold, Yuto just shook his head in sheer exhaustion.
'I don't believe it. She actually shifted her aggressive recruitment target to a literal six-year-old child.'
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