Chương 3: Hestia's First Child

Cael swallowed. Hestia's direct stare made him look away on instinct, but no matter where his gaze went, it felt dangerous. Her bright, innocent face. Her soft lips. The delicate line of her collarbone. The famous blue ribbon that framed her small figure far too effectively. Even the faint scent around her made it hard to think straight. With a real goddess standing this close, looking straight at him, staying calm was almost impossible.

"My name is Cael Veyren," he said.

"I came from the Krisna Kingdom. I am looking for a Familia to join, and I hope to become part of your family, My Goddess. That is..." He nearly died inside. He had prepared his lines. He really had. Why did his self-introduction sound so stiff? Hestia heard the words she had been waiting for, and her blue eyes brightened until they looked almost wet with light. She jumped in place, grabbed Cael's hands, and cheered like a child who had finally received the gift she wanted most.

"Wonderful! Wonderful! Someone finally wants to join Hestia Familia!" Someone was finally willing to become her family. Wonderful. Now her divine friends would stop laughing at her, especially that certain flat-chested friend of hers.

"I am happy too," Cael said sincerely as he watched Hestia bounce with joy.

"I get to become Lady Hestia's first Familia member." Her hands were wrapped around his. It felt embarrassingly good. One could not lie in front of the gods. Technically, he had indeed arrived in this world through the Krisna Kingdom. He had merely chosen his wording carefully. Hestia had been rejected by humans again and again, so she longed especially for her first child. Whoever became the first member of her Familia would hold a special place in her heart.

And now, Cael's special ability could finally begin to show its worth.

"My Goddess," Cael reminded her in a small voice.

"I know this is worth celebrating, but the Falna..." The gods' Falna was the key that unlocked a mortal's potential. His own ability needed that key before it could truly open. Without it, he could only receive a faint fraction of its benefits.

"You are very eager, aren't you, Cael?" Hestia planted her hands on her hips and nodded proudly.

"I am eager to become family with you too. Come with me." She seized his hand and pulled him away from the potato puff stand, practically running toward the outer edge of the slums. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. Behind them, the stall owner called out. Cael could not tell whether she was complaining or announcing that Hestia's wages for the day were about to be docked.

"Is it really all right to leave your job like that, Lady Hestia?" Cael asked as the petite goddess dragged him along. She was shorter than him by a head, but she ran with bright, unstoppable energy. A real goddess was holding his hand and pulling him through Orario. She was already calling him by his first name.

"It's fine, it's fine," Hestia said, so happy she seemed to have forgotten everything else. She patted her chest.

"I am a goddess, after all. I will not get scolded." Who cared about work? She finally had her first Familia member. Granting him Falna and making their family contract came first. Hestia looked up at the face of her first child, trying to memorize every detail. When she noticed that he was too embarrassed to meet her eyes, her lips curved with smug delight.

"Oh? You keep blushing and looking away. Are you embarrassed because I am too cute?"

"N-no. It is not because Lady Hestia is too cute. There are many reasons." Cael immediately tried to cover it up, but his heart had already betrayed him.

"Kuku. That was a lie," Hestia teased.

"Gods can tell when someone is lying, you know. But I am still very happy you joined my Familia, Cael." Even though he had lied, Hestia could not stop smiling. There were many things she could not do as a goddess, but she was absolutely confident in her looks. She was a true goddess, after all.

"Fine," Cael admitted, scratching the back of his head and looking away again.

"The truth is, I liked you the moment I saw you, Lady Hestia." He had forgotten, in the heat of the moment, that gods could tell when someone was lying.

"Hehe. I just got a confession." Hestia's cheeks colored slightly. She grew a little shy, then placed her hands on her hips and stood proudly.

"And by my first Familia member, too." Perhaps her luck had finally turned. She had imagined many ways she might meet the first person willing to join her poor Familia, but she had never imagined it would happen like this. It was wonderful. As they talked, the scenery around them grew more and more dilapidated. They had reached an abandoned part of the slums where no one lived anymore. The carved stonework on the ruined buildings hinted at how prosperous the area had once been.

Talking with the goddess slowly made Cael bolder, and the nervous tightness in his chest began to fade.

"Ta-da! This is Hestia Familia's base." Hestia hopped like an excited child to the front of an old, abandoned church. Then she opened a stone door in the wall.

"It looks terrible from outside, but the inside is quite nice. I spent a long time arranging it." Cael followed her through the stone door. Watching Hestia's cheerful back as she skipped down the steps somehow eased something inside him. The staircase was short. At the bottom was a modest room converted from a basement. There was an old wooden table, a worn-out sofa, a wardrobe that was still mostly intact, and several quilts folded neatly on a small bed.

The only light came from a magic stone lamp hanging on the stone wall. In two words, it was poor.

"From today on, you will live here with me, Cael," Hestia said.

"It may be a little hard at first, but if we save bit by bit, things will definitely get easier soon." As she spoke, her confidence softened. She pressed her two index fingers together anxiously and glanced at Cael's eyes. Some adventurers had considered joining Hestia Familia at first. But after seeing her living conditions, they rejected her without hesitation. No one wanted to suffer alongside her. She did not want to be rejected again. That would hurt.

"It feels warm," Cael said with a gentle smile.

"Living here with you will be happy, Lady Hestia. And once I make a name for myself in the Dungeon, I will make sure you live in the finest temple in Orario." The goddess who had been smiling like a child showed a flash of unease, and Cael answered it with warmth. He truly liked this place. Not only because he had known what to expect, but because the person he had once adored from the other side of a screen was here. Hestia was struck right in the heart. Her sky-blue eyes grew moist as she looked at him.

His gentle, happy smile reflected in her eyes and sank all the way into her soul. Then she smiled, deeply relieved.