Phaethon followed the voice and saw a petite, curvaceous girl with twin black ponytails.
She wore a somewhat rustic white work dress and stood with hands on her hips, grinning brightly at him.
Hestia, the Goddess of the Hearth—also one of the main heroines from the original anime series.
Seeing her, Phaethon chuckled lightly and spoke.
"So it's you, Hestia. Just finished work?"
"Yup, yup! The fried potato balls sold really well today!"
Hestia nodded happily and sighed dramatically.
"I just wonder when someone will finally be willing to join my Familia!"
Phaethon raised an eyebrow. For the longest time, he and Hestia had been known in Orario as the infamous "Duo of Difficulty."
Both had been in Orario for quite a while, yet for various reasons, neither had managed to recruit a single follower.
They'd occasionally bump into each other on the streets, vent their frustrations, and were more or less teasing friends.
"Phaethon, you didn't secretly find a Familia member behind my back, did you?"
Hestia eyed him suspiciously—something about him seemed a bit different today.
"Haven't found one just yet," he said, "but give it a few days, and that might change. I'm heading off now, Hestia."
"Eh? Leaving already?"
As if sensing something, Phaethon quickly turned and walked off.
Though Hestia felt a bit disappointed, she still waved him goodbye.
After crossing several streets, he arrived in front of a rather simple, two-story wooden house.
This was a temporary base he had rented from the Guild with a fair amount of savings—officially the headquarters of the Phaethon Familia.
But for now, the place remained silent and empty—aside from him, there wasn't a soul inside.
Phaethon pushed open the door and entered, closing it behind him.
The furnishings were minimal. The first floor was an open hall; the second floor served as living quarters.
Without stopping in the hall, he walked straight to a lone wooden chair in the corner, sat down, and closed his eyes.
Though he couldn't find Familia members in Orario, Phaethon hadn't lost hope.
All his expectations now rested on the Primordial Light System—the very thing that imposed restrictions on him, but might also hold the key to his breakthrough.
Just recently, this system—which had done little more than block his recruitment efforts—finally changed.
A new feature called Light from Another World had been activated, accompanied by a steadily filling loading bar.
Phaethon quietly attuned his senses to the system deep within his soul. At last, the progress bar slowly reached its limit.
[100%]
["Light from Another World" fully loaded. Cross-world recruitment channel now open.]
The moment the system prompt sounded, the air before Phaethon began to ripple and distort.
A soft golden light gathered from nothing, forming the outline of a glowing gate that radiated a divine and warm presence.
The inside of the gate wasn't transparent—it swirled like flowing, liquid gold, deep and mysterious.
It's here!
Phaethon's eyes snapped open, locked firmly on the portal that had just manifested.
Before he could inspect it closely, the gate pulsed violently.
Then—without warning—a figure fell out of it, crashing to the floor in front of him.
Phaethon's pupils narrowed sharply.
It was a woman dressed in a dark uniform with purple-bordered butterfly-patterned haori draped over her.
She had long, lustrous black hair—now messy and disheveled—and blood trickled from the corner of her lips.
Her body was covered in ghastly wounds, and her breath was faint. It was clear she had just emerged from a brutal, life-threatening battle.
Despite her battered state, her gentle and graceful aura couldn't be completely concealed—nor could her delicate, beautiful face.
And most importantly, Phaethon recognized her instantly.
Kanae Kocho—the former Flower Hashira from Demon Slayer!