As Luki and Hestia ran through the streets of Orario, the scene around them looked like something out of a nightmare. The tremor had passed, but the trail of destruction was still evident. Cracked walls, collapsed rooftops, shattered windows, it was as if the entire city had been struck by an invisible, merciless force.
Screams of panic still echoed as people rushed out of their homes—some injured, others dazed—trying to understand what had just happened. A group of adventurers worked together to clear debris from a partially collapsed building, while merchants desperately tried to salvage their scattered goods.
Luki and Hestia dodged wreckage, leapt over cracks in the ground, and slipped through narrow alleys to avoid the more congested streets. At every corner, the devastation looked worse, fallen pillars, overturned carriages, cracked fountains spilling water uncontrollably.
The air was thick with dust and smoke, and with every breath, Hestia felt her chest tighten.
As they approached the outskirts of the city, the chaos lessened, though the fear still lingered in the air. The houses here, built more simply, had suffered less than the large buildings downtown. Still, some had partially destroyed roofs, walls scarred with deep cracks, and doors torn from their hinges.
When they finally turned the last corner and saw the old church, an overwhelming weight crashed onto their chests.
The building, once a humble refuge, now bore the scars of disaster. The front seemed intact, but the left side of the structure had caved in. Part of the building had collapsed, leaving a massive hole where a small side hall once stood. Chunks of stone and wood littered the ground, and dust still floated in the air, betraying how recent the collapse was.
— N-No… — she whispered, her voice breaking.
Her wide eyes were fixed on the destruction. Her body trembled slightly, as if her mind refused to accept what she was seeing.
— No… — she repeated, her breathing turning ragged.
She staggered forward a step, her knees weak. The weight of the moment hit her like an avalanche.
This wasn't just an abandoned church where she had taken shelter. It was the home she had dreamed of building.
Though little time had passed since she discovered her love for Luki, Hestia had already been imagining their future together.
Luki would work as an adventurer, save up a small fortune, and with that money, they would gradually restore the church until it became a proper home, where they would raise children and spend the rest of their lives together.
But now, all of that was gone.
— No…! — her voice came out louder, but full of pure despair.
She ran to the rubble, falling to her knees on the rough ground, her trembling hands touching the cold stones. Her eyes glistened, vision blurring as tears threatened to spill.
All she wanted…
Her chest rose and fell rapidly, her breaths broken. She tried to speak, but the words dissolved into sobs.
And before she knew it, strong arms wrapped around her.
Luki knelt at her side, holding her firmly against his chest.
— Hestia-sama…
It was only when she felt his warmth that the barrier of strength she'd been clinging to finally shattered.
The tears came, uncontrollable.
She clutched his shirt, burying her face in his chest as sobs shook her.
— L-Luki-kun… our home… our home… — her voice was fragile, broken.
He didn't answer immediately. He only held her tighter. He could feel her fingers clutching at him, as if she were anchoring herself to the only thing she had left.
— It's okay… it's okay… — his voice was low but steady. — I'm here…
Even as he tried to comfort her, Luki realized his words weren't reaching her. She trembled, sobs caught in her throat, as if holding back a scream that would never come out. Her small hands clutched his shirt so tightly the fabric nearly tore, her knuckles white with pressure.
She bit her lip, trying to hold back the flood of emotions threatening to consume her.
Luki didn't know what to do. Didn't know what to say.
He, too, felt his chest tighten at the sight of the ruined church. As much as he tried not to show it, deep down… it hurt.
'Shit… I was starting to like this place.'
The thought came suddenly, unexpected. He had never truly grown attached to the church before, it was simply too terrible, but after sleeping there so many nights, it was inevitable that he'd formed some bond with it.
Taking a deep breath, Luki tried to push his feelings down and analyze the situation with the coldness it demanded.
'Almost the entire left side collapsed… there's no repairing that. We'll have to clear the rubble and patch the wall. But at least there wasn't anything important there. The main structure is still intact… we can salvage this with a lot of money.'
While waiting for Hestia to calm down, he gently stroked her hair, slow and patient. Just being there with her.
But even then, his mind wouldn't stop.
'What the hell was that earthquake?'
He couldn't remember anything like this being mentioned in the story. Not with this intensity, not with this impact.
Could it be related to some content he hadn't seen? He had only followed the story up to the talking monsters arc. If something like this were relevant, he would've heard of it.
But then…
His mind inevitably went there. A thought he couldn't ignore.
The Dungeon.
Did something happen inside? But that was even less likely. If an event of this magnitude were connected to the Dungeon, it would've definitely been mentioned in some conversation.
'For God's sake… i mean, for Hestia, I hope I'm just imagining things.'
He closed his eyes for a moment, pushing the nagging worry aside. This wasn't the time for theories. Not with Hestia still trembling in his arms.
Then, a soft, fragile voice called to him.
— L-Luki-kun…
He blinked, snapping back to the present.
— Are you okay? — he asked, now completely focused on her.
Hestia lowered her gaze and nodded faintly.
— Mmhm… — Her voice was weak, but at least she wasn't crying anymore. With a sigh, she slowly pulled away from his chest, wiping her tear-streaked eyes.
Luki watched as she turned her gaze back to the church ruins. Her expression was a mix of sorrow and resignation. As if trying to accept what she saw, yet unable to hide the pain.
He said nothing. He only placed his hand on her shoulder, a silent gesture of support.
Hestia shivered for a moment, then covered his hand with her own and took a deep breath.
— Let's go inside… — Her voice was steadier now, though weary. — There's probably a huge mess to clean.
— Yeah… let's see what's left.
Together, they entered the church, ready to face whatever awaited them.
[...]
Luckily, the interior wasn't as chaotic as they'd expected. Perhaps because they had little furniture. The floor was covered in dust, but the worst of the mess was in the kitchen, where some ingredients had fallen from the cupboards. The area near the collapsed section was filled with rubble and ash.
Hestia let out a heavy sigh as she looked at the state of the place.— Tonight's going to be long… — she murmured, already gathering cleaning supplies.
Luki silently followed, grabbing a broom and sweeping the dust outside while Hestia picked up ingredients and tried to restore some order. They couldn't just go to sleep with the church in this state. If they left everything scattered, the ingredients could spoil and stuff like that, and by morning the mess would only be worse.
The scrape of broom bristles echoed through the hall until Hestia broke the silence.— Luki-kun… what do we… do now? About the church.
He kept sweeping, eyes still on the floor.— FiSS… waLL…
— Repair the wall? Yeah… we could do that… — she said thoughtfully, but her expression quickly changed. — But it would be really expensive. Do you think we have money for that?
Luki hesitated for a moment before replying.— Yes… tight.
Hestia frowned. Clearly, his vocabulary still needed work.— You mean we have money for it, but it'll leave us in a tight spot, barely enough to get by?
Luki stopped sweeping and turned to her, confused.— Uh? YoU sAid?
Hestia sighed, shaking her head.— Never mind. — She waved a hand dismissively. — I think I understood… Looks like we really can't repair the wall.
Her voice softened at the end. She lowered her gaze and returned to storing the remaining supplies.
Luki stayed silent, lost in thought. His mind turned as he swept mechanically, hardly aware of what he was doing. Then suddenly, he felt two slender arms wrap around him from behind. He froze for a second.
The touch was delicate, but the way Hestia rested her face against his back conveyed more than words ever could.
— Luki-kun… — Her voice was muffled against his shirt, heavy with melancholy. — I think… it's time for us to move.
He tensed.— No… churCh is hOme… we fiX.
— We can't. — Hestia's tone was gentle, but firm. — I just realized something… Even though only this part collapsed, the rest of the building is full of cracks. The church was already old, Luki. After this… it's only a matter of time before it crumbles. If we keep fixing it bit by bit, we'll just be delaying the inevitable and wasting money.
She tightened her arms around him.— We… don't have a choice.
— Hestia-sama…
— We can take only the essentials. Our clothes, your gear. Then we can pool what little money we have and rent a cheap inn room.
— Hestia-sama…
— You can keep going on expeditions, and I… I can find a job... maybe selling potatos, i have a friend who does this. If we save, in time we'll have enough to buy a decent ho—
— Hestia-sama!
Her eyes widened at his sudden tone. Luki dropped the broom, letting it fall with a dull thud. Without leaving her embrace, he turned around and pulled her into a tight hug.
— It's okaY… I don't cAre. — He whispered against her hair. — I Know this churCH… maTTers to you. We wiLL find a waY.
Her chest tightened at his words. She looked up, her tear-filled eyes glistening. A smile formed on her lips, overflowing with emotions too many to name.
— Oh, Luki-kun… you're so good to me…
Her voice shook, and finally a tear slid down her cheek.— Thank you for caring so much about my feelings. But… it's okay.
Hestia lifted her hand, brushing her fingers softly along his cheek, warm and delicate.— It's just a church. As long as we're together… that's what really matters.
Luki's eyes widened slightly. She had essentially confessed her wish to build a family with him. He'd already known about her feelings, but hearing them this way, seeing the way she looked at him, blushing, eyes shining with emotion, was entirely different.
She loved him. Truly.
And at that moment, the only thought in Luki's mind was that no one could resist this.— Hestia-sama… — he whispered, raising his hand to gently hold her chin between his fingers.
Hestia didn't pull away. On the contrary, her gaze softened, and slowly, she rose on her toes, lips parting in anticipation.— Luki-kun…
She closed her eyes. The world around them disappeared. The smell of dust, the cold night air, the weight of destruction… none of it mattered. There was only the two of them.
Then— BAM!!!
A loud crash shook the church, making the ground tremble. Both of them jolted, the romantic moment vanishing in an instant. A puff of dust rose as another part of the structure gave way, a chunk of wall collapsing into rubble.
Luki instinctively pulled Hestia close, shielding her from the debris. She coughed a few times, eyes wide as she stared at the new pile of ruins.
The silence that followed was almost comical. The two remained embraced, blinking as the dust settled.
Luki, his face blank but radiating frustration, muttered with perfect eloquence:— … Fucking churh, now i really won't fix you.
Hestia blinked at him… then suddenly burst out laughing.
It was spontaneous, genuine laughter, tumbling out through the dust. At first, it sounded almost nervous, but soon it turned true, filling the empty, broken space around them.
Luki stared at her for a moment, surprised, before letting out a weary sigh.— Hey, stop… lauGH.
Hestia nodded through her laughter, tears still glistening at the corners of her eyes.
— It's just that… — She tried to catch her breath. — This is so ridiculous! We can't get a second of peace!
Luki ran a hand down his face, feeling the fine layer of dust sticking to his skin.— I… deserve this.
She laughed again and, without warning, threw herself into his arms, hugging him tightly. Luki nearly stumbled back, but held her firm.
— Thank you, Luki-kun… — she murmured, still smiling against his chest.
He hesitated, then relaxed.— For what?
Hestia raised her face, her eyes shining with a mix of tenderness and resignation.— I don't know, i think i just wanted to say this.
Luki said nothing, just looked at her. Then, without answering, he absently ran his hand through her hair, breathing deeply.
The church could be collapsing. The world could be in chaos. But at that moment, with Hestia smiling in his arms, none of it seemed to matter.
He closed his eyes for an instant.'I might be pretentious and cheesy for thinking this, but… whatever happens from now on, if it means I can protect that beautiful innocent smile on her face, I'll do anything.'
And so, with unspoken feelings and a touch of humor, the two returned to their work, ready to face whatever came next, together.