"Leon..."
I didn't look away from Loki.
The goddess tilted her head slightly, studying me with an intensity that hadn't been there before. Whatever amusement she'd had earlier was gone now.
Then she smiled.
"You're interesting, I like you. What do you say? Come join my familia." she said leaning forward, her tone shifting entirely.
The offer hung in the air.
Behind her, several members of the Loki Familia looked shocked.
Hestia went rigid beside me.
"What?!" she shrieked, practically launching herself forward. "Absolutely not!"
"I wasn't asking you, shorty."
"Don't ignore me!" Hestia grabbed my arm protectively, glaring up at Loki. "Leon is MY familia! Mine! You can't just—just waltz in here and try to poach him!"
"Poach?" Loki's grin widened. "That's a strong word. I'm just making an offer. A very good offer, I might add." She looked back at me. "Think about it, kid. The strongest familia in Orario. Resources, support, training, expeditions into the deepest parts of the Dungeon. Everything an adventurer could want."
"He already has everything he needs!" Hestia shot back.
Loki finally looked down at Hestia, her expression almost pitying.
"Does he? What can you offer him? You don't have a home. You don't have funds. You don't even have other members to support him. Face it. You're a bottom-tier goddess playing at running a familia."
Hestia's face flushed red, but whether from anger or embarrassment, I couldn't tell.
"No."
Loki blinked, her grin faltering for just a second. "No?"
"No," I repeated, then I laughed. "Strongest familia? You think that matters to me?"
Loki's smile faltered slightly.
"Let me make this clear: I don't join weaklings. And that's exactly what your familia is to me. Weak."
The room went silent again.
Bete's face turned red. "What did you just say?!"
"You heard me. The strongest familia in Orario? Please. That just means you're the strongest among a bunch of people who couldn't even touch me if they tried. Congratulations. You're the tallest dwarf in a room full of dwarfs."
Gareth grunted at that, but I ignored him.
"You want me to join you? To follow you?" I shook my head. "Why would I downgrade? The strongest familia isn't yours, Loki. It's Hestia's. Because Hestia has me."
Loki's expression darkened.
The air shifted.
It was different from my aura. This was divine. Raw and primal. The weight of godhood itself pressing down on the room like a physical force. Her arcana. The power that gods kept suppressed in the mortal world, leaking out just enough to remind everyone exactly what she was.
Adventurers at nearby tables went pale. Some gasped. Others grabbed their tables for support.
Hestia stumbled back slightly, her eyes wide.
The members of the Loki Familia stood firm, used to their goddess's power, but even they looked tense.
And me?
I didn't even blink.
The divine pressure washed over me like water off stone. Present, but meaningless. I'd faced far worse than an angry goddess trying to intimidate me.
I met her eyes and smiled. Not friendly. Not polite.
Mocking.
"Is that supposed to impress me?" I asked. "Because all you're doing is proving my point. The moment someone challenges you, you throw a tantrum like a child. No wonder your familia is the way it is. They're following a goddess who can't handle being told no."
Loki's eyes blazed with fury.
"And another thing, even if I were interested—which I'm not—why would I follow someone like you? A manipulative, arrogant, flat-chested bitch."
Someone gasped.
I didn't care.
I gestured to Hestia beside me.
"Hestia is worth a hundred of you."
Loki's divine pressure intensified, the air around her crackling with barely contained power. The temperature dropped. The wooden floorboards groaned under the weight of her fury.
Her crimson eyes burned like coals, and for the first time since she'd walked in, her smile was completely gone.
"You..." Her voice was low, dangerous. "You have no idea who you're talking to."
"I know exactly who I'm talking to," I replied evenly. "A goddess throwing a fit because someone dared to say no."
Behind Loki, her familia members looked torn between intervening and staying the hell out of it. Riveria's hand hovered near her staff. Gareth had stepped forward slightly, his expression grim. Even Ais had tensed, ready to move.
But none of them did anything.
Because they knew better than to get between a goddess and her target.
"You're making a mistake, a very, very big mistake."
"No. The only mistake here would be thinking I'm afraid of you."
Hestia grabbed my arm. "Leon, please—"
"It's fine, Hestia." I didn't look away from Loki. "She's not going to do anything. Because if she does, she breaks the rules. Gods aren't allowed to use their full power in the lower world. She knows that. Her familia knows that. And everyone in this room knows that."
Loki's jaw clenched.
"So unless you want to risk being sent back to heaven for breaking the one rule that matters," I continued, "I suggest you take your divine tantrum somewhere else. Because I'm not impressed. I'm not intimidated. And I'm definitely not joining your familia. And one more thing—insult my goddess again. I dare you."
For a long, tense moment, nothing happened.
Then, slowly, the pressure began to recede.
Loki's expression smoothed out, the rage draining away and replaced with something colder. More controlled.
"Fine…Have it your way."
She turned sharply, her red hair whipping behind her.
"We're leaving," she announced to her familia. "Now."
They didn't argue. Didn't hesitate. Just fell in line behind her as she strode toward the door.
But before she left, Loki paused at the threshold and looked back over her shoulder.
"You just made an enemy of the Loki Familia, kid," she said, her voice carrying across the silent tavern. "I hope you're ready for what that means."
"I think I'll manage."
Her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits.
Then she was gone.
The door slammed shut behind them, and the divine pressure vanished completely.
Slowly, the tavern began to come back to life.
I sat back down.
Hestia stared at me, her face pale, her hands trembling slightly.
"Leon...What did you just do?"
"What I had to do. Nobody talks to you like that. Not while I'm around."
"But... but that was Loki. The Loki Familia. They're—"
"Sshh..Everything will be okay, my goddess."
Hestia opened her mouth, closed it, then let out a long, shaky breath.
"Thank you," she said softly. "For standing up for me."
"Of course my goddess."
We finished our meal in relative quiet after that.
Well, as quiet as we could manage with half the tavern still stealing glances at us. Word was going to spread fast. By tomorrow morning, everyone in Orario would know what happened here tonight.
Still looking at Hestia across the table... I couldn't bring myself to regret it.
We paid for the meal—well, I paid, since Hestia tried to insist on splitting it even though she barely had any valis—and headed for the door.
Syr appeared as we were leaving, that same knowing smile on her face.
"Leaving so soon?"
"Yeah…Thanks for the food. It was good."
"I'm glad you enjoyed it. You're quite interesting, Leon. I hope you'll visit again."
"Maybe."
Hestia grabbed my arm and practically dragged me toward the exit. "Come on, Leon. Let's go home."
I let her pull me along, catching one last glimpse of Syr watching us leave, that mysterious smile never wavering.
Freya.
Right.
I'd almost forgotten about her in all the chaos with Loki.
Another goddess interested in me.
But that was a problem for another day.
"Are you okay?" I asked after a moment.
She nodded, but didn't say anything right away.
We walked in silence for a bit, our footsteps echoing softly against the cobblestones.
Then, finally, she spoke.
"I've never had anyone stand up for me like that before."
I glanced down at her.
"Not once," she continued, her voice quiet. "Back in heaven, the other gods... they'd make fun of me all the time. Call me names. Treat me like I was beneath them. And I'd just... take it. Because what else could I do? They were stronger, more popular, had more followers. I was just... me."
She looked up at me, and in the dim light of the street lamps, I could see her eyes glistening.
"But you... you didn't hesitate. You stood up to Loki. One of the most powerful goddesses in Orario. And you did it for me."
"Of course I did. You're my goddess."
"I know, but..." She smiled, wiping at her eyes quickly. "Thank you. Really. I don't think you understand how much that meant to me."
I stopped walking, turning to face her fully.
"Hestia," I said seriously. "I meant what I said back there. You're worth a hundred of her. A thousand. And anyone who disrespects you answers to me. That's not going to change."
Her smile widened, genuine and bright despite the tears threatening to spill over.
"You're going to make me cry, you idiot."
"Then cry. I won't judge."
She laughed at that, a watery sound that was half sob, half genuine amusement.
"Thank you," she whispered against my chest. "Thank you for being my familia."
"Thank you for being my goddess."
We stood there for a moment, just the two of us in the quiet street, before she finally pulled back, wiping at her eyes again.
"Okay," she said, her voice stronger now. "Let's go home. I want to update your status properly and see just how much you've grown today. And then you're going to tell me everything that happened in the Dungeon. Everything."
"Everything?"
"Everything."
I sighed. "This is going to take a while."
"Good. I've got all night."
We started walking again, side by side, heading back toward the old church that had somehow become home.
And despite everything—despite the Loki Familia, despite Freya watching from the shadows, despite all the complications I knew were coming—I felt... content.
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