Meanwhile, Hecate, who had helped send Astellon to where Hestia was, was alone in her room, checking the time.
"By now... I wonder if it's over."
As Hecate was thinking about Hestia and Astellon, someone approached her.
"Goddess Hecate."
"Mm? You are..."
"This is our first meeting, I believe. I am Nemesis."
A woman with black hair that suited her well stepped forward, and introduced herself as Nemesis.
"Nemesis... As in the goddess Nyx's..."
At the name Nemesis, Hecate immediately realized that she was the child of Nyx, the foster mother of her husband, Astellon.
"What brings you here?"
Hecate, too, grew tense at Nemesis's serious expression and asked why she had come to see her.
"Well..."
"...Hm?"
At Hecate's words, Nemesis seemed to act a little embarrassed, and Hecate sensed that something was off.
Something feels... strange.
Watching that reaction, she felt as though this was much like when Goddess Hestia had once come to see her.
"...Please don't tell anyone else about this."
"...Understood."
While Hecate was feeling uneasy, Nemesis spoke to her, and Hecate answered that she understood for now.
"The truth is... I have feelings for Astellon."
"...Pardon?"
Nemesis's declaration froze Hecate's mind for a moment.
"W-What do you mean by that? If I take that at face value... it sounds like you like Astellon too?"
"If that is how it sounds... then yes, that is correct. I think I do like Astellon."
"Ah...eh?"
It had been half a joke, but Nemesis boldly confessed that she liked Astellon. Hecate was utterly flustered.
"Y-You and Astellon are siblings, aren't you? Is that really all right?"
"Isn't it? It's not as if we share real blood."
Hecate continued speaking with Nemesis, but the more they talked, the more certain she became that Nemesis was serious.
"Haa... How on earth did it come to this..."
Then Hecate thought of Astellon, her husband, who had even managed to ensnare her older sister.
Just how are you doing this, Astellon, that you go around charming so many women?!
Several hours before the incident, before meeting Hecate, Nemesis had been summoned by her mother, Nyx, and gone to her.
"You called for me, Mother?"
"Yes, my daughter~!"
As Nemesis approached, Nyx greeted her with a smile as bright as the clear sun, rushed forward, and embraced her.
Holding Nemesis in her arms, Nyx rubbed her face against hers.
"Yes! It's been so long, my daughter!"
"M-Mother. Could you please let go of me?"
"No~"
At Nyx's behavior, Nemesis wore the resigned expression of someone long used to it.
"So. What did you call me here for this time?"
"Hmm... well..."
Trying to escape this situation, Nemesis asked why she had been summoned.
But that choice changed the course of her life.
At Nemesis's question, Nyx smiled and spoke to her.
"My daughter. Lately, you've been going to see our youngest quite often."
"T-That is..."
"And you've been spending more time with the youngest than with us. Well, up to that point I could let it pass. But they say that whenever you're with Astellon, you look happier than ever before. So I'll ask you plainly. Do you perhaps like Astellon?"
"Th-Tha..."
Nemesis's mind turned blank as snow at Nyx's direct strike.
"N-No! I'm siblings with Astellon! So there's no way we'd...!"
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At Nyx's words, Nemesis's face reddened like a ripe apple. In that state, she thought of Astellon.
A-Astellon is kind, handsome, and of high status...!
"Hmm. So our daughter thinks of Astellon that way?"
"Y-Yes? What do you mean by that?"
"You just said it yourself."
"I-I did? With my own mouth?"
As Nemesis thought of Astellon and, without realizing it, spoke his name aloud, Nyx discovered how she felt about him, and Nemesis's face turned as red as a volcano.
Seeing that, Nyx approached her with an unreadable expression and began speaking with her.
Nyx drew near Nemesis and continued to nudge her toward Astellon, and toward Astellon's side of the bond with her. Until Nemesis came to understand the feeling called love.
Thus, under Nyx's scheme, Nemesis slowly nurtured the feelings she had unknowingly kept in her heart, and this time those feelings swelled like a soaked sponge until—
"Astellon..."
At last, she awakened to the emotion of love that had been hidden within her.
"Fufufu."
Confirming that, Nyx wore the expression of someone whose plan had gone exactly as intended, and spoke to Nemesis, who had just experienced her first love.
"Nemesis. I have no intention of standing in the way of your relationship. And there is something you must do if you are to be joined with Astellon."
"What is it...?"
"Meet Hecate and receive her permission. It is far better than suddenly appearing and joining them, my daughter."
"...Yes, Mother!"
After that, Nemesis moved to meet Hecate as Nyx had advised, and Nyx, left alone, said,
"Now then. I should go meet the guardian deity of the moon and Eirene, and my old friend as well."
And she set out to meet the three goddesses who were similar to Nemesis.