Thank you,@Kynx, for joining the memberships.
I'm truly grateful.
Bonus(1/1)
...
Chapter 4: Hestia: My Child is a Stat Monster!
....
The divine realm and the lower world were not entirely without connection. Events in Orario filtered back upward through various channels, providing entertainment for those gods who preferred to observe mortal affairs from a comfortable distance rather than descend and participate in them.
The hottest topic circulating through the divine realm at present was, naturally, a civilian defeating a Level 3 adventurer with his bare hands. Most of Orario's adventurers and gods had no idea which goddess he was looking for — but Hestia knew perfectly well.
He was looking for her.
The problem was that she hadn't descended yet, which meant there was no possible way for him to find her — and in the meantime, the man was apparently spending his days accepting death-match challenges at the arena with the casual attitude of someone with nothing better to do.
Hestia's fundamental decency wouldn't allow her to simply watch. That, combined with a growing restlessness with the monotony of divine realm life, made the decision straightforward. She descended to the lower world and immediately contacted her closest friend among the gods — Hephaestos, Goddess of the Forge.
She asked her to locate Kihara and bring him somewhere they could meet properly.
Kihara would have described the Hephaestos Familia's base of operations less as a headquarters and more as an industrial forge the size of a city block. The heat hit him before he'd even reached the gate — a rolling wall of warm air carrying the smell of coal, hot metal, and something that might have been singed leather. Inside, the rhythmic clang of hammers on anvils formed a continuous backdrop that left no silence unfilled.
"Most of our members are adventurers who specialise in smithing," Hephaestos said, with a note of apology that was almost entirely overtaken by quiet pride. "It can get a little loud."
They passed through the forge floor — all heat and focused industry — and entered a manor house set apart from the main work area. The contrast was immediate. Where the forge was functional to the point of austerity, the interior of the manor was richly appointed: weapons and works of art arranged along the walls, each one carrying the kind of presence that communicated serious money without needing to announce it.
Hephaestos called out toward a small figure standing before a rose carved entirely from red crystal. "Hestia — I brought him, as requested."
"Could you not phrase it like I requested him — I'm not Ishtar or Freya—"
Hestia caught herself mid-mutter, composed her expression into something more dignified, and clasped her hands neatly at her waist.
"Hello, Mr. Kihara. My name is Hestia."
"You absolute dunce — I already called you by name, why are you introducing yourself?"
"W-well, isn't it more polite? I've never descended before, I don't know how you're supposed to act with mortals—!"
One mild remark from her friend and Hestia's carefully assembled composure shattered completely. She blinked at Kihara with wide, flustered eyes, then turned to Hephaestos with barely-contained desperation. "Help me—"
Hephaestos pressed two fingers to the bridge of her nose. She could already see this going wrong. The last thing she needed was for Kihara to take one look at this display and decide against joining Hestia's newly-formed Familia before it had even gotten off the ground.
"Please excuse her," she said quickly. "Don't let this fool you — Hestia is genuinely reliable. She just... occasionally loses the thread."
"What do you mean don't let this fool you—!"
"Hestia. Please stop talking."
Subdued by the force of her friend's composure, Hestia fell into a sulk — chin dipping, lower lip pushed out, both hands worrying at the hem of her dress with a restless, fidgeting motion that, given the architectural geometry of her chest and its blue ribbon arrangement, produced a result that was rather more visually arresting than she probably intended.
"I think there may be a small misunderstanding," Kihara said pleasantly, then shifted his attention fully to Hestia. His expression settled into something direct and unhurried. "My feelings toward Goddess Hestia aren't conditional on her being graceful. Whatever kind of goddess she is — that's what I like."
"A — a confession?! Out of nowhere?!"
Hestia had received confessions before. Plenty of them, in the divine realm. They had all followed the same general template: an assortment of rare and expensive treasures arranged outside her shrine, followed by the recitation of love poetry composed several centuries prior, delivered with maximum theatrical investment.
No one had ever said anything like that — simple, unadorned, and somehow landing with far more impact than all the poetry combined. Her twin tails rose of their own accord, defying gravity entirely, and both hands flew up to cover a face that had gone completely red.
"Hephaestos—" she managed, by reflex, turning to her friend for emergency assistance. "What am I supposed to do when a mortal confesses to me—"
"You two are going to be the end of me," Hephaestos said, to no one in particular.
She sighed, walked them both through the basic formalities of joining a Familia, and showed them to a room where the Falna ceremony could be performed in private.
Hestia pricked her fingertip with a silver needle. A bead of divine blood fell onto Kihara's exposed back and spread like a drop falling into still water — ripples moving outward across his skin as golden script began to rise to the surface. The seal of the hearth goddess took shape among the characters, and Hestia carefully pressed a sheet of parchment against his back to transfer the imprint, her movements careful with inexperience.
She turned the parchment over and read it.
Kihara.
Strength: S999
Endurance: S999
Dexterity: A795
Agility: A700
Magic: I0
Magic Skills: [None]
Skills:
[Divine Favour]
Heroes and protagonists will always defy common sense.
All parameters increase when in the company of a god.
[Shadow Twin]
Shadow acts in concert with the user's attacks.
???
[Phantom Blade]
Increases proficiency with all weapons.
[???]: ???
Hestia swallowed hard.
"Is... is this right?"
She was a newcomer to the lower world, yes — but even she had never heard of a first-time Falna recipient coming out of the ceremony with two S-ranked parameters, two A-ranked parameters, and a collection of skills that would make veteran adventurers question their life choices. The normal progression started at the bottom — rank I, grinding upward through accumulated combat experience until S was a distant, hard-won achievement. Not this. Not a full readout before a single dungeon step had been taken.
Was this what people meant when they talked about a stat monster?
"Hestia? What's wrong?"
"N-nothing."
She passed the parchment to Kihara, her expression shifting into something unusually grave. "Kihara-kun — these numbers must never be revealed to anyone. Not to anyone, do you understand? If this gets out, it will be very dangerous for you."
"Understood."
Kihara looked over the readout without particular surprise, then tossed the parchment into the burning brazier kept nearby for exactly this purpose and began putting his shirt back on.
The Falna's parameters were essentially a character sheet from an online game. Given how far his physical capabilities already exceeded a standard Level 1 adventurer, numbers like these weren't shocking to him. They were simply the system making explicit what was already true.
But...
Hestia stared at the entry that was still turning over in her mind.
[Divine Favour]— Heroes and protagonists will always defy common sense. All parameters increase when in the company of a god.
She stole a sideways glance at Kihara, keeping her eyes carefully indirect.
The heat that rushed to her face was immediate and entirely unwelcome.
...It isn't because of me, is it? Have I... without realising it... already developed feelings for Kihara-kun?
"Hestia — what are you muttering about? We need to find somewhere to set up the Familia. We can't impose on the Hephaestos Familia indefinitely."
"It's nothing! I'm coming!"
She slapped both palms against her cheeks with purpose, took a breath, and filed the thought away for later. There was a Familia to build. A single skill notation was not going to derail her. She was a goddess, and she would conduct herself like one.
Hephaestos watched them go with something warm and satisfied settling in her chest.
With her own Familia and a member to look after, surely Hestia would finally find the motivation to be productive — to stop materialising at her divine hall every other day and eating her food and taking up her sofa and contributing absolutely nothing to the household.
As it turned out, Hephaestos was to be disappointed on this front.
The newly-infamous Kihara seemed to vanish from Orario entirely, taking Hestia with him. No record of either of them appeared at the Adventurer's Guild. No sightings in the dungeon. No trace at any of the expected locations.
As though they had simply ceased to exist.
...
Thank you for reading.
(T/N: Yoo guys I'm back, i was kindaa busy these days.)