"I was well taken care of in Heaven. It's good to see you here, Hestia."
Dionysus carried himself like the prince of a prosperous kingdom. When he spotted Hestia, his expression darkened for a moment, but his noble poise and courteous smile quickly buried it.
"Just trivial things, nothing worth remembering." Hestia gave a small smile and lifted her chest with pride.
"That shorty actually helped you?" Loki overheard them and frowned. Her impression of Dionysus was that he was not someone to take lightly. According to the Guild's reports, his Familia ranked solidly in the middle of Orario's power scale. They even had several Level 2 members, yet their accomplishments were practically unknown. Just like his unreadable smile, Dionysus followed a strict creed of never revealing information about his Familia. It was hard to imagine Hestia having anything to do with him.
"Oh, that's all ancient history. Nothing worth talking about."
Hestia's smug tone only made Loki more curious.
Under Loki's scrutinizing stare, Dionysus explained with a gentle smile, "Hestia and I were neighbors in Tenkai. Back then, our domains followed a system where representatives were chosen. I failed to earn one of the twelve seats, and it left me in utter despair… but that was when Hestia helped me."
Loki immediately understood. "So basically, the shorty didn't want to leave home, so she just handed her seat to you, right?"
Dionysus gave a wry smile, accepting it without words.
"What did you just say?!" Hestia snapped. "I gave up my position out of kindness!"
While she certainly did want to stay in her shrine doing absolutely nothing, the prickly, unsettling aura that clung to Dionysus back then had been the real deciding factor.
Just as she was about to argue further and spill everything that had happened in Heaven, Dionysus shifted the topic.
"Hestia, I've heard your Familia member is remarkable. They may all look down on that boy, but I truly believe he'll accomplish great things."
"Hm—you know your stuff. My Bell is really strong."
Hearing Dionysus praise the boy, Hestia swallowed the urge to badmouth him.
Given how things stood, Dionysus was probably cut off from the Lower World just like Loki because of everything happening down there. In a gathering full of gods who only mocked and jeered, the fact that he acknowledged Bell's value was enough for Hestia to loosen her guard.
"I have someone like that in my Familia as well. No matter where she goes, she's judged. Seems we're in the same boat."
Dionysus's smile dimmed slightly as something came to mind.
The Bringer of Death. An elf girl who had survived multiple full-party wipeouts alone. Even the most gossip-hungry gods felt a tinge of sorrow when they heard that name.
"How is that child now?" Demeter asked gently.
"Her body is fine, but the wounds in her heart will take a long time to heal," Dionysus answered.
"Looks like everyone's got it rough," Hephaistos grumbled. "My household has a troublesome smith too."
Once the conversation turned to their Familia members, even the ever-cheerful Loki let out a long sigh.
"Why are you sighing? Isn't Loki Familia one of the strongest in the city?" Dionysus asked.
"My kids are reliable, sure, but they still have their own problems that aren't easy to fix."
The members of Loki Familia, to put it nicely, had wildly different personalities...
"I heard there's a Monsterphilia coming up. How about taking them out for a change of pace?" Dionysus suggested.
Organized by the Guild and hosted by the Ganesha Familia, the festival was the perfect outing for gods who loved crowds and excitement.
"A festival, huh… sounds good. Why don't you take that elf at home out for a stroll too?" Loki quietly made a note of the idea.
"I have other matters to attend to, so I won't be able to join." Dionysus bowed his head slightly. "I won't keep you any longer, Loki. I hope you and your children enjoy the festival."
"Then I'll be going as well." Demeter slowly took her leave. "And don't go starting any fights. If you get angry, drink a little wine to cool off."
She caught up to the blond god and spoke in a whisper too faint for anyone else to hear.
"What trouble are you planning now?"
"…When have I ever done anything troublesome?" Dionysus answered with a wry smile.
"It's just that whenever you wear that expression, something always ends up happening."
In the lively noise around them, Demeter's smile stayed gentle.
...
Loki glanced at the two gods who had just left. "Come to think of it, the wine for this banquet is made from ingredients provided by Demeter's Familia."
She took a sip of the grape wine, the rich sweetness of the fruit spreading across her tongue. Loki, who had always loved fine wine, could never praise Demeter's Familia—growers and sellers of fruit—enough.
Hestia shot her a glare.
"As a loli, isn't a shorty like you supposed to stay away from alcohol?" Loki noticed the prickly look.
"I am a Goddess," Hestia said, grabbing her goblet and draining it in one go.
These past few days, she had been dropping by God Miach's place just to sneak drinks. Only after Bell joined the Familia had she finally toned down the habit a little.
But instead of calming them, the wine only fanned their tempers.
"What Goddess? Anyone who joins that shorty's Familia must've had eight lifetimes of bad luck."
Loki's jab lit the fuse.
"You… what did you say?! The ones truly cursed are the men who fall for you! And what even is that outfit? What isn't there just isn't there, no matter how hard you try!" Hestia shot back.
Hephaistos raised her goblet and stepped aside with elegant precision. At this point, all she could do was observe from a safe distance.
The moment those words "what isn't there" hit, Loki reacted like she had been struck with a massive hammer. All strength drained from her body.
As she spoke, she grabbed Hestia's cheeks. "You don't understand anything, so stop talking nonsense!"
Hestia's jaw was pinched, her words reduced to muffled sounds. She stretched out her hand to retaliate, but Loki kept perfect distance, leaving her unable to land a hit.
More gods began to gather, and some even bet elixirs and coins just to see who would win. Loki and the long table boxed Hestia in, blocking the spectators' view of the scuffle.
Only Loki could see it.
Every time she shook Hestia's body, the goddess's generous curves bounced with her.
"..."
This "fight" had decided its loser from the very beginning.
Unable to endure the murmurs of the watching gods, Loki lifted her skirts and stormed away in frustration.
Hestia, on the other hand, flashed a triumphant grin and made a victory sign.
Amidst the cheers and laughter of the gods, she followed Hephaistos out of the hall.
…
The moon peeked through the half-hidden clouds.
Cold moonlight spilled across the ground, and the lingering warmth of the banquet gradually dimmed.
Before the colossal statue, the gods chatted and laughed, exchanging stories about the feast as they drifted away one after another.
"Are you really coming back with me?" Hephaestus asked.
Hestia clung tightly to her friend's arm. "What if you wake up tomorrow and pretend none of this ever happened?"
"Do you take me for some shut-in who only eats and sleeps and never lifts a finger?"
"Well… I'll work hard, I promise."
"Then what about your Familia member? Won't that child worry about you?" Hephaestus's eyes were calm and rational.
"I already told Bell I'll be back in a few days," Hestia answered honestly.
"…So you planned this from the start? I'll tell you now—if you're coming with me, forget about weapons for the moment. You'll take care of your own food expenses first."
"Yes, I swear I'll work seriously. But that child… I want to help him." Hestia pleaded.
"Fine…" Hephaestus could never win against this friend and ended up leading her toward the carriage.
Moonlight lay across the road like a sheet of frost.
A blond god hid in the shadows, watching the scene with a cold gaze.
The world longed for heroes.
Every anomaly in the Dungeon had its traces.
But for a large-scale disturbance to erupt on the Fifth Floor—this was utterly unprecedented.
The reasons were worth pondering.
To the god, the Dungeon was afraid of that boy and wanted to kill him before he could grow.
He hadn't expected the Dungeon to be so wary of a brand-new Adventurer.
Still, as preparation for the coming [Madness], it was a sensible move.
He would do the same.
The god's eyes locked onto the carriage as he whispered words no one could hear.
"Hmph."
"[Hero]."