"Hestia…"
At the mention of that name, Astraea immediately pictured a certain twin-tailed, homebound girl who never left her shrine. In Astraea's memory, Hestia was an extreme shut-in—perfectly content to stay indoors reading or lazing about, as if the world outside barely existed.
"Is Hestia's temperament really suited for the Lower World?"
"Given her personality, shouldn't she stay in a heavenly temple forever, curled up at home with her books?"
Astraea's relationship with Hestia wasn't bad; she understood her fairly well. By temperament, Hestia wasn't the sort of god who fit the Lower World. Unlike other deities driven by curiosity for the unknown, Hestia preferred nesting at home. As long as she had food, drinks, and something to read, she could go months without stepping outside.
Put in mortal terms, Hestia was perfect for living like a pampered freeloader—just not for serving as a familia's leading deity.
"Once you descend, you can't solve everything with divine power anymore," Astraea said. "You even have to handle trivial matters yourself. That really doesn't sound like something Hestia would do."
"Agreed," Loki said, readily seconding Astraea's conclusion.
From Loki's point of view, Hestia would be helpless the moment she reached the Lower World. That shut-in who loved staying home would instinctively seek out her old lifestyle when she found she couldn't adapt.
"Going by that little shorty's personality," Loki mused, "if she can't adjust down here, she'll find a friend and continue being a freeloader."
"Hestia's friends in Heaven?" Astraea counted them off in her head. There were quite a few—and more than a few were doing well after descending.
But if Hestia was going to couch-surf, she'd choose someone with deep pockets.
Astraea quickly arrived at a candidate. "Hephaestus, I'd bet."
"Hestia and Hephaestus were on good terms up there," Astraea continued. "And Hephaestus is wealthy enough not to mind Hestia crashing with her. If she learns Hestia has descended, she wouldn't let the girl end up on the streets."
Loki nodded in agreement. "Those two have always gotten along. Hephaestus-san would cover that shorty's adjustment period for sure."
"Speaking of weapons," Loki added, "we should straighten out our strategic relationship with Hephaestus ahead of time."
"So you're planning to rope Hephaestus in, too?" Astraea zeroed in on the crux at once. "She isn't easy to recruit. Her familia is commercial. She doesn't chase grand ideals like Zeus or Hera. Convincing her won't be simple."
Hephaestus was the forge-focused craft goddess. It made sense she got along with Hestia: in her own way, she was a homebody who poured everything into smithing. Compared to Hestia, she wasn't nearly as reclusive—but even so, ordinary reasons wouldn't bring Hephaestus into anyone's camp.
"No problem," Loki said with an easy smile, entirely unbothered. She glanced up at the clock. "Anyway… it should be about time."
At that very moment, Hephaestus sat in her office, studying a piece of vivid red cloth and a ring whose outstretched wings cradled an amber-orange gemstone.
"This isn't ordinary fabric."
One look told Hephaestus how unusual the cloth was. When her finger pressed down, the force seemed to soften, swallowed by the material itself. The sheet wasn't woven from thread at all—it was a seamless, integral whole, carrying an almost sacred presence.
Pulling it by hand or cutting it with a blade left no mark. Even for Hephaestus, the material was eye-opening.
"I've never seen anything like this," she murmured. "It feels… soaked in divine blood. No—divine blood alone wouldn't be this abundant, and it wouldn't have effects like these."
Unable to pin down the source, Hephaestus set the cloth aside for the moment and picked up the exquisite ring.
She lifted it toward her eye and examined it from every angle. "What a peculiar ore. The gemstone itself holds a special power."
She probed with a trickle of divinity.
Ripples stirred within the ring, answering her touch. Hephaestus's interest sharpened.
"How interesting—divine power resonates with it," she said softly. "But the divinity doesn't drive the ore. It's being absorbed—at least a portion of it."
"Astonishing. What a bizarre mineral."
As the goddess of artisans, Hephaestus knew materials. Yet nothing in her experience matched this stone.
Her gaze slid back to the red cloth on the desk.
"Almost forgot about you."
"You don't look like a material from this world. Who sent you here?"
Hephaestus had no idea who had delivered these things to her room.
"Tsubaki? No… If that girl stumbled on something this rare, she'd hoard it for herself to study. She wouldn't just drop it off in my office."
Knowing her captain well, Hephaestus crossed Tsubaki off the list of likely culprits immediately.
"Wait."
She recalled the mess that had involved Soma not long ago—the mysterious meeting he'd had with someone unknown. She'd attended that divine assembly and happened to overhear Freya and Ishtar discussing the incident. She also knew very well how Ishtar had been used as Freya's convenient target to deflect attention.
The center of that talk had been Loki—who, now that Hephaestus thought about it, had seen her familia embroiled in no small trouble lately.
Her fingertips brushed the red fabric.
"Is Loki behind this?" she wondered. "Should I go ask her?"
Hephaestus looked between the two items on her desk. Curiosity had already caught flame, and her mind was made up.
Go.
(End of Chapter)
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