Is it wrong to try to meet someone in a dungeon?

"That was true back then, but it's not like that now, is it? Our [Familia] has made great progress; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that they're catching up to Loki and the others."

"...Yes, maybe you're right."

Hestia was talking to the boy who was sitting on the floor while preparing a flint.

Contrary to her usual clumsiness, Hestia lit the fire with a deft movement that even Bell couldn't help but admire.

At first there was only smoke.

Then the crimson flames trembled as if being scratched, and slowly spread to the firewood.

Just as Hestia squinted at the firelight in the fireplace, Bell, who was watching the fire with her, slowly spoke.

He said with a smile:

"Sometimes... I think of that church basement where I lived with the gods. I'm happy that Lily and the others were willing to join the Familia, and that the headquarters has expanded, but... I still feel nostalgic."

"Haha, me too. I used to be so excited, thinking, 'I must live in a more luxurious house!' But now I feel that life back then wasn't so bad~ or I want to go back to the time when I was alone with Belle~ and stuff like that. ...Really, whether you're a child or a god, you're just as capricious."

The initial base camp, the "chapel chamber," was incredibly small.

Before Bell arrived, the headquarters was lonely, desolate, empty, and desolate.

Her current place is very spacious.

Everyone was there; it felt both warm and fulfilling.

"So much has happened..."

The words that slipped from her lips unintentionally filled Hestia with a myriad of emotions.

The young man sitting beside him must have been thinking the same thing.

Looking at Hestia's profile illuminated by the fireplace firelight, Bell said these words to her:

"Hey, would you like me to massage your shoulders?"

"Oh?"

The unexpected suggestion made Hestia's eyes widen.

"...Bell, even considering our relationship, what you said will still be considered as unintentionally crossing the line of sexual harassment, okay?"

"I don't quite understand what you're saying... Anyway, I'm sorry. But for some reason, I just suddenly wanted to do something for you..."

Bell first shrugged apologetically, then scratched his cheek shyly and gave a wry smile.

"I just felt that I wanted to do something for the gods who have done so much for us..."

Perhaps it's like a child caring for their parents' hard work, or an unintentional tenderness that arises in their heart for someone.

Furthermore, it is precisely because Bell has always been Hestia's closest confidant, sharing both joys and sorrows, that he would say such a thing.

Hestia felt as if a flame had been lit in her chest.

"...Then, will you grant my request?"

"Oh, okay. What's up?"

Hestia said nothing and stood up.

Then she sat down in front of Bell.

It's like sitting in a rocking chair, leaning against the boy's chest.

"You have to stay with me from now on, okay?"

Hestia turned around and smiled at the boy's face so close to her.

She thought the boy would panic because their bodies were so close, but he didn't.

Although Belle looked surprised, she still smiled back from above her head.

This pleased Hestia, who leaned her weight back.

Bell silently let her lean on him.

"Bell".

"?"

"【Family】is really great!"

"……yes!"

The two sat overlapping on the carpet, gazing at the fireplace. Just like that, their minds and bodies felt calm and peaceful.

They couldn't be described as partners; to outsiders, the physical difference made them seem more like siblings. Mentally, they were somewhat like an old married couple who had been together for many years, but she didn't feel there was any difference.

Anyway, as soon as Lily or anyone else finds out, they'll be pulled apart immediately.

So before that, she wanted to lean against the boy's chest and enjoy his body heat.

Sparks burst from the fireplace.

The warm firelight illuminated their faces.

She suddenly felt strongly that this was happiness.

She felt it was a blessing that this young man was willing to become her first companion and stay by her side.

Fragments of memories flickered deep within the hearth fire.

Hestia squinted at the steadily burning fire in the hearth.

Volume 15, Chapter 2: HEY WORLD

The starry sky seemed to be guiding travelers, scattering its light.

In the boundless darkness, the boy stood alone.

On a cliff some distance from a quiet, remote mountain village, he let the night wind blow through his white hair, facing a grave for a long time.

The grave, made of wood and stone, was merely a formality. In reality, there was no body beneath it that should have been buried. The grave simply allowed the boy to calmly accept the death and separation of his loved one.

The boy remained motionless. He looked bewildered at the tombstone, hesitantly asking questions in search of advice, and then repeatedly questioning himself. Having lost his reliable and beloved protector, he needed more time to find the answers on his own.

Rubellite blinked repeatedly, watched over by the clear night sky of the deep mountains.

"—Shooting star."

at this time.

A beam of light flashed by, causing the sky above to flicker.

The boy snapped back to reality and looked up, where a flash of azure light filled his vision.

It scattered countless particles of light, trailing a beautiful tail of light across the vast night sky.

In less than a few seconds, the azure meteor disappeared from sight—far away, to the south of the boy's village.

"Could it be... a deity?"

The boy had a gut feeling that it was a god descending to earth.

That happened six months before he handed in his answer and headed to the labyrinth city, the center of this world.

*

Gently and softly.

A feeling of floating arises from this.

As animals and monsters fled in panic, the azure meteor, soaring through the sky, slowed its speed just before it was about to hit the ground.

As if it disliked making a grand entrance that would bother others, the meteor—a sphere of azure light—stopped in mid-air and slowly descended to the land. The instant a humanoid silhouette appeared inside the sphere, particles of light scattered in all directions with a snap.

After the radiance dissipated and the fog cleared, a young girl appeared in the same spot.

She possessed a beautiful face that seemed to shift between that of a little girl and a young woman, jet-black hair, and ample breasts that didn't suit her petite frame.

A young girl, descending from the heavens, landed barefoot on the grassland—the land below.

"Oh, so this is the 'lower realm'!"

She surveyed the entire landscape before her with her mysterious blue eyes—the vast grassland at night—and made excited, joyful sounds.

The hazy outline of the forest in the night, the scent of grass, and the call of an owl that seemed to come from nowhere.

The sensations she experienced through all five senses filled her with excitement and joy, flushing her round, smooth cheeks.

The maiden—the goddess Hestia—swayed her body, looking around. After a while, she opened her arms and said with emotion, "It really is different from the heavens."

"It's finally my turn to descend to earth... My long-awaited life on the lower realm is about to begin."

Hestia squinted, looking up at the night sky with a smug expression.

Soon, she looked down at her body.

In order not to violate the rules of the lower realm set by the gods, "divine power (Arcanum)" is restricted, and even divine might is suppressed to the point that the body is powerless and has no sense of omnipotence.

My hands and feet are as thin and small as my appearance, and they have no strength.

Even this weakness seemed to bring her joy, and Hestia smiled broadly.

"So, next... I should land near it."

Hestia let the cool night breeze tousle her dark hair as she looked around.

She looked around in the vast grassland bathed in the clear light of the stars and moon, and the instant she turned around, "Oh!" she found what she was looking for.

"Found it! Found it!"

On the far other side of the horizon, a giant white tower rises high in the night sky.

*

Hestia walked barefoot across the vast plains, asking a passing merchant for a ride in his carriage to Orario, the labyrinthine city where the white tower stood.

This place, hailed as the "center of the world" in the mortal realm and the focus of the gods' attention in the heavens, was Hestia's destination. Guided by a kind and respectful female merchant, as dawn broke, the young goddess arrived at the foot of the massive city wall that isolated the entire city from the outside world.

She was surprised to hear the guild gatekeeper warn that once a new Celestial or Familia settled in Orario, they could not easily leave the city. After completing the complicated procedures, she stepped through the north gate of the city wall.

"That inspection took forever. I never imagined there were so many regulations even for settling in a city... But maybe that's what they call 'lower-world charm'."

Although Hestia was a little tired from the lengthy examination, she still didn't lose her smile. Compared to the heavens where everything was free and unrestricted, this lower realm was neither convenient nor free, and everything was new and interesting.

A moment later, Hestia saw the city landscape with its various buildings standing tall inside the city walls and cheered.

"This is Orario! What a wonderful place!"

The title of "center of the world" is well-deserved; even goddesses couldn't help but admire its magnificent streetscape.

The scene of paved roads and shops, inns and clock towers, squares and skyscrapers; the densely packed man-made buildings of all sizes, is the kind of dreamlike, mysterious paradise that people in the celestial realm would imagine—a picture-perfect landscape that is impossible to see—with its magnificent nature and cascading waterfalls of light from the clouds.

The sun is about to rise high in the sky.

She arrived at the city wall around dawn, but the lengthy inspection process delayed her.

Hestia wasn't wearing shoes she wouldn't need in the celestial realm, so she walked barefoot on the paved road. Looking at the lively crowd of demi-humans and the children around her, her face beaming with joy, she continued walking along the city's main street.

"Alright, we can't just be tourists forever... Let's go find Hephaestus first. Where could she be?"

When settling in Orario, it is highly reliable to have a divine friend who descends to the mortal realm beforehand.

She had forgotten that it was hundreds of years ago, when the goddess she knew told her as they parted, "I've decided to go see that place (Orario)." And so she set off on her journey ahead of them.

Hestia knew almost nothing about the lower realms—or rather, firsthand information—and as she prepared to visit Hephaestus and was about to ask the children passing by...

"Huh? Hey, hey, that over there wouldn't be...?"

"Huh? Oh my god!"

Just then, a voice came from behind.

Hestia turned around and saw the person who had entered her field of vision—correction, it was God—with an expression on her face as if she had encountered a long-time enemy.

"Loki!?"

"Damn it~ She really is a shorty~ Ugh, this is awful~"

As soon as she called out the name of the Crimson-haired, Crimson-eyed Goddess, Loki looked up to the sky and sighed.

Hestia was furious inside, thinking: This is what I wanted to say, okay!

Loki, the trickster, is already a legendary figure in the Celestial Realm.

This guy loves to make things difficult for Hestia and is her mortal enemy.