[Heart of Oak] was located on North Main Street.
Departing from there.
About half an hour passed.
The [Valka's Red Room], which served as both the workshop and base of the [Hephaestus Familia], finally came into view.
The roaring sound of iron being struck echoed here year-round, and the air itself drifted with a smell that was a mixture of coke and metal.
Just entering the main hall.
A breath mixed with the smell of burnt metal and heatwaves pounced on their faces; this was the unique scent of a forging Familia.
However.
Compared to this heatwave, what impacted them first was a wail of extreme wretchedness.
"Uuuwaaa... Hephaestus~~~~!"
"You can't do this to me!"
"I'm going to starve to death!"
The voice was shrill and mournful, like a cuckoo weeping blood; it would make the listener sad and the hearer shed tears. Those who didn't know better would think some tragedy of abusing a deity had occurred here.
One could only see.
Beside a guest table in the corner of the hall.
A blue and white unknown object was huddled right there.
That was a person.
Or more accurately speaking.
It was a God.
That iconic twin-tail hairstyle. And that blue ribbon passing under her chest, forcefully outlining an astonishing curve.
Aside from Hestia, who else could it be?
It was just that.
At this moment.
Hestia was using her face to roll around the tabletop like a salted fish that had lost its dreams, emitting bursts of noise that made people look askance.
Her entire body radiated a dark aura named 'dejection'.
"Grrr..."
"Uuuuu... so hungry..."
"I haven't eaten for several hours already, Hephaestus, that cruel-hearted fellow..."
Hestia raised her head.
—That originally energetic small round face had already scrunched up into a bitter melon.
The cause of the matter was very simple.
Not long ago.
She had finally slept enough, and with her cowlick sticking up in a mess, she crawled out of the guest room in a daze, prepared to forage for food.
According to usual custom.
Even if she had perfectly missed lunch time at this point.
However.
As long as she went to the workshop for a casual stroll, blinked those watery big eyes twice, and called out "Hephaestus~" in that cloying, overly sweet voice.
Hephaestus, who had a sharp tongue but a soft heart, would scold her saying "I really can't do anything with her," while having someone serve up a piping hot lunch.
This trick worked every time.
This was Hestia's source of fearlessness.
As a result!
Today!
The script changed!
When Hestia found her way to the entrance of Hephaestus's exclusive workshop with practiced familiarity.
What greeted her was not Hephaestus's sigh of helpless doting.
But a cold, hard wooden sign hanging on the doorknob, reading: [In Seclusion, Do Not Disturb, Not Seeing Anyone, Even Hestia!]
The door was even locked from the inside!
No matter how Hestia knocked on the door, acted cute, or even splashed about and rolled on the ground outside.
There wasn't a single movement from inside.
It was as if that best friend who usually treated her the best had suddenly evaporated from the world.
"It's too much!"
Hestia hammered the table in grief and indignation.
"Even Tsubaki that guy isn't here! There's actually not a single person in the entire Familia paying attention to me!"
"Clearly I am a noble deity!"
"Grrr..."
Another loud stomach growl.
Immediately after.
Footsteps suddenly came from the doorway.
This made Hestia's large blue eyes, which had originally lost their highlights, turn with great effort.
When she saw clearly who had come.
"Haimer—!!!"
A shrill howl instantly resounded through the entire hall!
Using both hands and feet, Hestia launched herself from the chair and charged over.
"Uuuuu... you finally came back!"
"If you hadn't come back, I would have been starved to death here by Hephaestus!"
Disregarding whether there were outsiders present, Hestia hugged Haimer's waist directly. That small face, which still carried some baby fat, rubbed against Haimer's waist incessantly; the tears and snot truly came on demand.
"Hephaestus, that cruel-hearted fellow!"
"She actually had someone lock the main gate of the workshop! She won't see anyone!"
"That would be fine!"
"The most excessive thing is!"
Hestia raised her head, those large teary eyes filled with accusation.
"I woke up from my sleep and it was past the meal time of the workshop cafeteria!"
"Those people actually told me there were no leftovers! Not even a steamed bun!"
"Uuuuu... I want to eat Fried Potato Snacks... I want to eat red bean cream flavored crepes..."
"But I don't have a single copper on me..."
Standing to the side, the fully armed Shakti watched this scene, and a crack appeared in her originally serious expression.
Although she had heard of this Goddess-sama's deeds long ago.
Hearing about it a hundred times isn't as good as seeing it once.
"..."
But this couldn't be helped.
Who asked this guy to have been a parasite at Hephaestus's place for so long already? She had long since engraved gluttony and laziness into her bones.
Just like a lone wolf that once hunted alone on the wilderness.
Being domesticated by humans into a Husky that wags its tail for pity only takes one winter.
Haimer reached out with some headache, pressing down on that face that was still rubbing against his waist, and forcefully pushed it away.
"Alright, alright, the snot is about to rub off on me."
"This outfit is new. If you get it dirty, I'll take you to pay off the debt."
"Haimer—!"
Unexpectedly.
This move didn't work at all.
Not only did Hestia refuse to let go even in death, she even pushed her luck.
Those short little legs kicked wildly in the air twice, and she insisted on climbing up like a koala, strangling his waist tightly.
"Lend me some money! I beg you!"
"Just a little bit! Even if it's only enough to buy one Fried Potato Snack is fine!"
"Wait until I have a Familia in the future, I will definitely pay you back double! Ten times! No, twenty times!"
"..."
Looking at this visage.
Haimer completely gave up the idea of reasoning with her.
Talking about dignity with a poor God whose eyes were red with hunger was no different from playing the lute to a cow.
"Phew..."
Finally.
Haimer sighed helplessly. He reached his hand behind his back and precisely grabbed the back collar of Hestia's white one-piece dress, which was a bit old but still considered clean.
Then.
His arm exerted force.
"Up you go."
Like picking up a stray cat throwing a tantrum, he lifted her entire person directly off himself, dangling her in mid-air.
"Let go of me! Let me down, quick!"
Her feet left the ground.
Gravity might be late, but it is never absent.
Hestia was still flailing her four limbs impotently in the air, those two iconic black twin-tails swinging back and forth with her movements.
"Stop screaming, my ears are going deaf."
Haimer lifted Hestia in front of him, making her look him in the eye.
"Hephaestus went into seclusion for serious business."
"You fellow, as a best friend, besides relying on her place to sleep and eat, you still have the nerve to complain here that she didn't cook for you?"
"In addition."
"It's good that you're awake, saves me from going to find you."
"I have something to tell you."
"Wh-what is it?"
Hearing these words.
Hestia, who was originally still baring her fangs and brandishing her claws, paused her movements.
She sniffled, and those blue eyes instantly filled with vigilance, staring fixedly at Haimer.
"As long as you're not asking to borrow money from me!"
"I am a true pauper right now! I'm cleaner than my face from head to toe!"
"If you dare to have designs on my private savings, I'll bite you to death!"
"..."
What is this called?
This is called gauging the heart of a gentleman with the measure of a small man.
Did he look like the kind of person who would rob a beggar?
Haimer couldn't help but roll his eyes dramatically.
...
"Relax, I'm not asking to borrow money, nor am I asking you for food."
"I wanted to tell you."
"I plan to move out of that two-story small building I lived in before."
With that said.
Haimer let go, putting this claw-brandishing fellow back on the ground.
"Since I'm moving out, that place will be empty anyway."
"In the future, if there comes a day when you get swept out the door by Hephaestus."
"You can go live there."
"Although it's a bit dilapidated, at least it can shelter you from wind and rain."
"How about it? Pretty decent of me, right?"
Haimer finished speaking.
He originally thought.
According to normal logic, even if this guy didn't thank him, she would at least be slightly moved.
After all.
In this Orario where every inch of land was worth gold, giving away the residence rights of a house for free.
Even if it was a dilapidated two-story small building, even if it was just residence rights.
For a poor God who was currently penniless and couldn't even afford a Fried Potato Snack, it definitely counted as sending charcoal in snowy weather.
This was like handing half a steamed bun to a person about to starve to death.
At the very least, it should be exchanged for a "May a good person have a peaceful life," right?
As a result.
After Hestia finished listening, she shook that small head directly like a rattle drum, her face full of disapproval.
"Please, Haimer~"
"What joke are you cracking?"
Hestia put her hands on her hips, her face written all over with mysterious confidence.
"Hephaestus and I are sisters!"
"It's a friendship of hundreds of millions of years!"
"How could she possibly sweep me out the door~"
"Although regarding today's matter, she locked the door."
"But that's also because she is busy with work; I can understand this."
"Wait until she finishes being busy."
"As long as I act spoiled towards her, sell some cuteness, and squeeze out two drops of tears, she will definitely soften her heart~"
"Hmph hmph~"
When saying this.
Hestia even lifted her chin triumphantly, extended a finger, and waggled it in front of Haimer.
"When that time comes, won't I have her in the palm of my hand~"
"At that time, let alone living here, even the red bean cream crepes I want to eat, she will obediently have someone send over to me!"
"So."
"That broken house of yours, you better keep it to raise dust yourself~ This Goddess doesn't care for it!"
"..."
What kind of confidence was this? What kind of hopelessness?
Watching this guy's posture of speaking about mooching so self-righteously right now.
After listening, the corner of Haimer's mouth twitched for a while. He was completely speechless, and had already started to look forward to the day this guy was kicked out by Hephaestus.
After all, when that time came, this guy would definitely be unable to bear it and run to find him, and he could properly mock this guy then.
...
"Oh, right."
"You said you were moving out of that two-story small building; have you thought about where you're moving to?"
Hestia thought of the main point and asked, tilting her head.
"Mn, it's already settled, and it's not far either."
"Where?"
"Right in that high-end residential area at the intersection of North Main Street and West Main Street."
"The three-story stone house with a laurel tree."
"...Eh?"
____
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