"What were you thinking? Do you know just how much 1 billion Valis is?" Hestia chided, her mouth puffed out like a squirrel's mouth full of food. Cute and puffy.
Orion just sighed at that. This was the third time Hestia had brought the subject up after they left Hephaestus's forge with his weapons.
The talk had come to an end with two promises given. Tomorrow he would come prepared to show he could heal the red goddess, and then they would talk about which objects in his possession he was ready to sell to Hephaestus and for what price.
"I told you, I don't wish to sell my katana. That weapon is important to me," Orion pointed out.
"But that's a billion Valis!"
"I know."
Hestia just pouted at that. What else could she do in this situation? She hardly earned twenty thousand Valis while selling her Jagamarukun, and a major part of it had to be spent on acquiring ingredients to make more of that snack. It hardly left her with anything as savings.
If only she had a billion Valis… what could she do with that kind of money?
Her eyes glanced down at Orion's waist and then his hands. There was nothing there. He had already kept the weapons in his inventory where she couldn't see them anymore.
Orion even wondered if he would have been ambushed midway if he had those weapons out in the open now, since the goddess of the forge had labeled them worth over a billion.
Most likely—if someone else besides the baffling goddess and him knew about it.
Hestia's pout only grew bigger when she noticed Orion wasn't paying much attention to her. That was one part of the boy she never liked—he had the habit of dazing out mid-conversation, sometimes staring at nothing up in the air or letting his eyes linger left and right like he could see something others couldn't.
"It doesn't matter. As I said, I have other items she would like to look at. And now I also know how much Hephaestus is ready to pay for them. It's only a matter of time before we are filthy rich," Orion pointed out, to Hestia's delight.
But then her mind drifted to the person who would pay for that. Hephaestus was also her friend—she couldn't let her go bankrupt just paying for those items.
Orion seemed to notice the little goddess's hesitation and assured her that he wouldn't ask for some outrageous price. Hell, he outright couldn't, since what made Hephaestus so interested in those items were the unique materials and forging techniques they were made from—something she could learn by dismantling a few items.
If he truly wanted to make good money, he would rather sell everything useless in his inventory to Hephaestus at once for a sky-high price. Because after that, he knew she wouldn't be asking for more.
Most likely.
By the time they arrived home—Hestia's rundown church—Marika was already there, waiting for them while seemingly reading a book she had gotten from somewhere.
After the range limit of how far they could go from each other had widened, Marika had hardly been by his side. Mostly only when he was dungeon diving, during breakfast, dinner, and sleeping of course. Besides that, she was off doing gods knew what.
Orion quickly read the book's title. Apparently it was about the history of this city.
Good to know she was keeping herself entertained.
However, knowing her, Orion suspected she was gathering intel for some future grand plan or political move rather than reading out of simple curiosity.
He didn't call her for now. She looked quite invested in that book. Instead, he left Hestia outside to annoy Marika and went inside to make something for his two goddesses.
Cooking was his job—both fictionally and literally.
Neither Marika nor Hestia could cook, and he wasn't planning on spending too much money on street food every day. Besides, it wasn't a very healthy diet either.
Dinner turned into an excited affair. Hestia was full of stories to tell her lovely golden cow.
Marika mostly listened with little interest. Her only real curiosity appeared when the topic of Orion trying to heal Hephaestus's damaged eye with the Flask of Crimson Tears came up.
Can a goddess—a deity—really be healed with that?
She wanted to know too.
As for money? She didn't care much.
"I was thinking of getting a place of our own after I get the money from healing Hephaestus and selling those items she asked for," Orion finally brought up the topic.
That stiffened the bright smile on Hestia's face.
Hestia knew both Marika and Orion were only temporary with her. They couldn't stay in that church—which wasn't even hers to begin with—forever.
"Oh… hmm… well, I understand. I expected this sooner or later. Honestly, this place is quite run down. It's only natural you'd plan to move somewhere better once you have enough money," Hestia said with a smile, trying to hide her real emotions.
Orion felt a pang of guilt at her sorrowful mood, but he couldn't do much about it. Neither he nor Marika planned on expanding their Familia anytime soon—if they even could—but both of them wished to live somewhere better than this rundown place.
He had long wished for Hestia to come along with them.
However, he knew her well enough to understand that she most likely wouldn't accept that.
And leaving Hestia alone again was an option he didn't want to choose.
After that announcement, dinner became mostly quiet. Hestia still tried to show excitement and talk, but the enthusiasm behind her voice was gone. It was all fake bravado to keep from ruining everyone's mood.
Even Marika didn't say anything.
Later, after dinner was finished, she finally asked when Hestia stepped away for a few minutes.
"Art thou certain thou wouldst do such a thing? I had thought that wretched little goddess of poverty held some measure of importance to thee."
Marika spoke without judgment. She simply wanted to know what had made Orion change his mind so suddenly.
"I don't want to do it either. However, we can't stay in this rundown church forever. After I get the money, I'd rather get a cozy place than keep staying here," Orion shrugged.
Marika blinked at that. That almost didn't sound like the Orion she had come to know.
Orion, on the other hand, didn't bother explaining further.
That night, Hestia couldn't sleep—even while clutching Orion like a teddy bear as usual.
She truly didn't want to be left alone here again.
xXx
A/N : Liked it ? Tell me in the comments and also don't hoard those stones, throw them over. And, of course, should he leave Hestia ? They can't stay together forever in that church of her now can they ?