The gods in the Denatus assembly watched quietly as the child in the projection hid both his face and his voice. Almost simultaneously, the same doubt surfaced among them.
"Whose child… is that?"
Naturally, the question stirred the gods' curiosity.
Most talented children in Orario were already accounted for in the gods' minds. For a completely unknown child of this caliber to suddenly appear was far too conspicuous.
Although the gods often fooled around, they still kept close track of gifted and well-known children in Orario. Otherwise, how could the competition over promising talents among them remain such a constant battle?
But this child—this one truly was a first for all of them.
"No idea. None of mine are this exceptional."
"Obviously! If your familia had a child like that, do you really think you'd be able to keep him?"
It was common knowledge among Orario's gods: excellent familias produced excellent children. But if a child grew too exceptional—so exceptional that they outshone their own familia—then any god would inevitably attract the coveting eyes of others.
Thus, openly vying for and snatching talented children from other familias had long been a common pastime among the gods.
But that was exactly why the gods grew even more curious.
Who was the one capable of hiding a child like this so completely?
There were, at least, a few possible suspects.
One male god voiced the most likely candidate.
"Freya-sama, could this be your child?"
His words immediately drew the full attention of the assembly.
Given Freya's reputation, her greatest specialty was discovering and securing children of outstanding talent—something she had done repeatedly.
"Unfortunately, he is not mine."
Freya glanced at the figure in the projection and gave a slight shake of her head. However, no one noticed how her polite smile deepened just a little.
"Huh? Not Freya-sama?"
The gods were genuinely shocked—they had assumed only Freya could hide such a child.
"If he's not Freya-sama's, he won't be Loki's either."
That remark instantly earned Loki's displeasure.
"What do you mean he wouldn't be mine!? Are you saying my eye for talent is worse than this love-struck idiot's?"
The male god who'd spoken earlier panicked, realizing he had just offended Loki.
"Loki, the way that child spoke with yours didn't sound like someone from your familia."
Artemis, seated beside Hestia, couldn't listen any longer and offered clarification.
"And your children always move together. If he were one of yours, he wouldn't suddenly appear only on the 35th floor."
Loki's face twitched, his expression somewhere between a smirk and a grimace, as he glanced at Artemis.
"Artemis, when did you learn to talk like that? Don't tell me he's yours?"
"He is not my child."
Artemis's expression darkened noticeably, the brightness in her eyes dimming as well.
"All of my children perished in the outside world. I have no intention of rebuilding a familia."
Only then did the gods finally realize that Artemis had returned to Orario.
The gods finally learned through Artemis and Loki's exchange that Artemis's familia had been annihilated. No wonder she returned to Orario without a single word of news.
Looking at Artemis now, hearing her declare she had no intention of rebuilding her familia, the gods immediately understood—the destruction of her children must have struck her harder than she could bear.
And truly, no god could stomach the loss of their own familia.
Children they had painstakingly raised, wiped out in a monster extermination… such a scene was unbearable for any god who genuinely cherished their familia.
"Loki, are you a dog or what?! Do you have to bite everyone you see?!"
Hestia, seated beside Artemis, couldn't hold back anymore. She sprang to her feet and started shouting directly at Loki.
"I'm telling you, that child is my child, alright?!"
Silence fell over the entire Denatus. All the gods were stunned by Hestia's declaration.
But after a moment of calm thought, they all shook their heads.
Even Loki rolled her eyes, utterly speechless. She wasn't about to seriously argue with this little pipsqueak, but a jab or two was inevitable.
"You? Please.
Your kid does fine work with Rune Stones, sure, but if you're claiming he is yours, then do us all a favor and go tell the Guild you're switching your familia from 'Production' to 'Exploration.'"
"There's only one child in all of Orario who can be the head of a Production-type familia and be a Level 6 adventurer—and that's Hephaestus's kid. What's a Production-type Familia God doing trying to claim someone like him?"
Loki's counterpoint was sound. It was nearly impossible for a high-level adventurer to emerge from a Production-type familia. Aside from Tsubaki of the Hephaestus Familia—which really was a one-in-ten-thousand exception—no other adventurer had ever shown such qualifications.
And Hestia's familia was officially registered as a Production-type familia. That wasn't something anyone could dispute.
Besides, everyone in all of Orario knew about Hestia's familia by now.
The Rune Stones they created were absurdly useful: temporary Status boosts, attacks akin to Magic Swords… they were remarkable.
Everyone knew Hestia had hit the jackpot—she'd taken in an extremely gifted child, one capable of crafting those unique Rune Stones.
But again, a Production-type familia producing another Tsubaki was nearly impossible. So most gods agreed: that mysterious child in the projection couldn't be hers.
"Yeah, it's definitely not Hestia."
"Right, if he were Hestia's child, that would be too ridiculous."
A child with extraordinary talent and the ability to craft Rune Stones? Even for Orario, that would be excessive.
Honestly, if that boy really were hers, Hestia wouldn't have stayed irrelevant for so long.
But there was one god who was nearly laughing out loud.
Watching Hestia, Loki, Freya, and Artemis all cooperating—yes, cooperating—to cover up every trace of Bell, Hermes could barely keep a straight face.
Who would've thought they could act so united when it came to this?