Hearing the voices nearby, Hestia realized there were outsiders present. She quickly patted Levi's arm, signaling for him to put her down. She turned toward Alise and Kaguya.
"Hello there! I am Hestia, Levi's lover and his Patron Goddess. Please, allow me to apologize on his behalf for disturbing your rest." She bowed slightly.
The former Captain and Vice-Captain of the Astraea Familia wouldn't dream of letting a Goddess apologize to them. They waved their hands in a panic. Kaguya spoke up first: "Goddess Hestia, you are too kind. Alise and I are the ones who should be grateful for a second chance at life. Levi mentioned he intends to bring all our old comrades back to the Lower World eventually."
"I see." The twin-tailed goddess already knew her lover's plan; she was simply playing her part in the conversation. Sensing no deceit from the two girls, she offered a warm smile.
"I've heard Hestia mention what you were planning, but seeing it with my own eyes... it really does make me feel like my divine worldview is shattering," a voice drifted from the entryway.
Hephaestus, the red-haired, one-eyed Goddess of Smithing, leaned against the wall with her arms crossed.
"Lady Hephaestus." "Greetings, Goddess Hephaestus," the group chimed in, with Alise and Kaguya being notably more formal. They remembered Levi's request to keep their identities hidden, but the current situation seemed... complicated.
Knowing the street outside might have prying eyes, Levi gestured for everyone to move to the basement.
Five minutes later, Levi sat with Hestia in his lap, offering a fruit platter he'd gathered in the Dungeon. He looked at Hephaestus. "Lady Hephaestus, I must ask you to keep Alise and Kaguya's presence a secret for now."
"Don't worry," Hephaestus smiled. "We aren't exactly strangers. You know what kind of Goddess I am. Besides, if I'm not mistaken, you didn't just spend all those days in the Dungeon to summon the 'Scarlet Flower' and the 'Yamato Gentian,' right?"
"As expected of Lady Hephaestus. You know me best." Levi offered a charming platitude, unaware of the odd looks Alise and Kaguya were giving him from behind the sofa.
Hephaestus noticed the girls' expressions but only gave them a meaningful look before turning back to Levi.
"When I pulled Alise and Kaguya from the cycle of Heaven... well, there's a high chance Lady Freya detected it with some sort of magic item," Levi admitted. He hated bringing up the Goddess of Beauty, but since her "Favorability" toward him would show up on his status soon anyway, he decided to get ahead of it.
Hestia, however, suddenly began gnawing on her thumb with a look of pure resentment. "No wonder... that woman..."
Levi looked confused, prompting Hephaestus to chuckle. "On your third day in the Dungeon, Hestia and I attended a banquet hosted by the Apollo Familia. Apollo slandered you, claiming you beat his children. Hestia lost her temper and declared a War Game."
Levi nodded, not angry at Hestia's impulsiveness. Instead, he patted her head. "You did well. It's a shame I wasn't there; those three wouldn't have walked out of that hall alive."
All his hard work and the millions of Valis spent on the Gacha were for one purpose: to ensure people would listen to reason when he spoke.
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My : https://[email protected]/AuAuMon
Danmachi : I'm Surrounded by Goddesses (132 Chapters, Ongoing)
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"Hehehe, I told you! Levi is on my side!" Hestia bragged to her friend.
"Yes, yes, Hestia is the luckiest Goddess in the world," Hephaestus sighed. "But there's a catch. Your Levi has been targeted."
"So, what does Freya have to do with the War Game?" Levi asked.
"The theme was drawn as a 'Legion Flag Capture War,'" Hephaestus explained. "Both sides must protect their own flag while trying to destroy the enemy's. While Hestia's Familia is only you—and you likely won't send the two girls behind you into the fray—winning against Apollo shouldn't be hard given your strength."
Hephaestus's expression turned mocking. "But Hermes, that chaos-loving god, suggested a 'Guest Member' rule to test your depths. Each side can invite five outsiders, provided their level doesn't exceed the highest-level member of the host Familia."
"That 'Neutral' god is a real piece of work," Levi muttered. He realized immediately: Apollo would use Freya's members as his "guests."
"Exactly," Hestia added, pouting. "I'm sure Freya is already fantasizing about you. I want to send her back to Heaven myself!"
"What's the timeline?" Levi asked.
"One week," Hestia replied. "I tried to delay it with a one-billion Valis stake, thinking a fool's money is easy to take. But Apollo deposited the cash the very next day."
"Freya likely funded it," Hephaestus noted. "Apollo couldn't scrape together half a billion, even if he sold his soul."
Levi sighed. He didn't ask about the consequences of losing; they were irrelevant. Unless Freya sent a Level 6 disguised as a Level 3, his Orion Class Card ensured he was untouchable.
"Lady Hephaestus," Levi said, turning to the smith goddess, "I have some materials I need to move through your connections."
"You really don't hold back, do you?"
"You're Hestia's best friend. You wouldn't want to see her sad, would you?" He squeezed Hestia's waist playfully.
"Your 'divine life' seems to have a lot of 'once-in-a-lifetime' requests," Hephaestus teased Hestia before turning to Levi. "Fine. Come to my workshop tomorrow afternoon. I'll find a discreet merchant. The price will be a bit below market value, though."
"I understand. It's the cost of staying off the grid," Levi agreed. He then placed the Orion Class Card on the table, sliding it toward her. Hephaestus inspected it, touched his cheek like a playful aunt, and waved goodbye as she left.