While Levi was hard at work accumulating feats within the Dungeon, Hestia, who had the day off, was still lingering on the surface. She had slept in late, and even after waking up, she didn't get out of bed immediately. Instead, she wrapped her arms tightly around the quilt—which still carried the lingering scent of her dependent—and buried her face in it, sniffing deeply every now and then.
"Hehehe Levi My dear Levi" "So fragrant So hard So big"
Her behavior was so utterly that of a lovestruck pervert that Hephaestus, who had been entrusted by Levi to bring her a meal, stood there completely dumbfounded.
"I only realized today that you were such a closet pervert."
"Eek!"
The sudden voice ringing in her ear clearly startled Hestia. However, realizing quickly that it was just Hephaestus, she placed her hands on her hips and puffed out her chest, wearing an expression that screamed 'I have a boyfriend and I'm proud of it.'
"Hephaestus, you're just envious."
"Envious?" Hephaestus curled her lips, her tone half-joking, half-serious. "I suppose that's not entirely wrong. So, would you be willing to share half of Levi with me?"
"Absolutely not." Hestia made a big 'X' with her arms in front of her. "Levi is my child, and he belongs only to me."
"That intense possessiveness... to be honest, if I hadn't seen your face, I would have thought Freya had walked in."
"Her?" Hestia pouted disdainfully. "That woman loves one person after another, only to toss them aside like worn-out shoes once she has them. She's forever chasing 'love', or rather, the sensation of 'unobtainable love'. To compare me to her... Hephaestus, you've become quite mean-spirited."
The red-haired, one-eyed goddess had only intended to make a joke; she hadn't expected her best friend's reaction to be quite so volatile.
However, she wasn't slow-witted, and realization dawned on her quickly.
"When you were in Heaven, I recall your relationship with Freya wasn't that bad."
"Heaven is Heaven, and the Lower World is the Lower World." The twin-tailed goddess initially tried to brush it off with that excuse. But seeing the skeptical look in her friend's eye, she fell silent for a moment before whispering, "That woman... she's noticed Levi."
"Oh?" Hearing this answer, Hephaestus was somewhat surprised, yet it felt as though everything was within reason.
But a second later, she spotted a loophole in her friend's words.
"Freya and Levi shouldn't have met yet, right? Otherwise, there is no way you could have intercepted this treasure before everyone else."
Hestia nodded. "That is true. At least from Levi's subjective perspective, he has never met Freya."
Hearing this, Hephaestus laughed. "My, my Then isn't that a bit strange? The two haven't even met, yet you already know for a fact that your dependent is being targeted. Why is that, I wonder? It's so hard to guess"
If anyone else dared to be this passive-aggressive with her, Hestia might have already bared her fangs and snapped back.
But Hephaestus was, firstly, one of her few true best friends. Secondly, she had likely already guessed Levi's greatest secret.
Thus, after weighing things in her mind, the twin-tailed goddess gave the answer directly.
"Actually, even if I didn't say anything, you would have found out once Tsubaki returned from the Dungeon. After all, Levi couldn't possibly not use that magic."
"Magic?" Hephaestus raised an eyebrow.
Hestia nodded. "Yes, magic. A spell called... 'Goddesses' Love Blessing'."
When mentioning the name of the magic, her tone became noticeably heavier, her expression filled with resentment.
And then...
Pfft—
A sudden snort of laughter erupted in the room.
Hephaestus clutched her stomach, so overcome with amusement that she couldn't control her expression at all.
"Hahahaha... 'Goddesses''... and it's plural... 'Love Blessing'... Hahahaha... I can't... my stomach hurts... Hahahahaha..."
Hestia closed one eye and looked at her friend with the other half-squinted.
"That's right. It is the Goddesses' Love Blessing. Any goddess who develops favorable feelings toward my Levi will have those emotions captured by this magic, which then converts them into a specific blessing."
"By the way, the magic currently records three blessings."
"The first is my 'Pure White Love'. The second is Freya's 'Twisted Love'. As for the third..."
Hestia paused deliberately.
Hephaestus, who was being stared at, seemed to realize something. It was as if someone had pressed the pause button on her; her laughter came to an abrupt halt, and her expression gradually turned awkward.
"Uh, well, surely not...?"
"Oh~~~~" Hestia crossed her arms, her tone dripping with mockery. "Didn't you just ask me to share half of Levi with you, my dear best friend? Lady Hephaestus, holder of the 'Love of Curiosity' toward my dependent."
"I should also mention that the Falna actually displays the affection level of the goddesses. Currently, the one with the highest affection for Levi is naturally me, but the one in second place isn't Freya."
A drop of sweat rolled down the red-haired goddess's forehead.
"Hephaestus, you were laughing so happily just a moment ago. Why did you stop smiling? Is it because you naturally dislike smiling?" Hestia twisted the knife.
The red-haired, one-eyed goddess fell silent for a moment before regaining her composure.
"I admit I am very curious about Levi, but this feeling hasn't ascended to the level of romantic love."
Hestia actually understood this, otherwise, she wouldn't have brought up the magic to tease her friend.
However...
"But you will eventually take that step in the future. After all, my Levi is so full of the unknown. Before you know it, he attracts the gaze of goddesses."
Hephaestus fell into silence upon hearing this.
She and Aphrodite had played that 'yuri couple' game in Heaven for so long; she knew all too well that curiosity and inquiry were facts that could very easily spoil into romantic love.
Hestia suddenly straightened her face. "Hephaestus, didn't you say earlier that you wanted half ownership of Levi?"
The red-haired goddess nodded instinctively, but then quickly added, "But that was just..."
—Just a joke between us.
Hephaestus didn't get the chance to finish her sentence because Hestia abruptly cut in with, "I agree."
The words left Hephaestus frozen in place.
"You... You..."
The one-eyed goddess opened her mouth, seemingly wanting to say something, but she couldn't sort out her thoughts in time.
In contrast, Hestia looked calm. "Just like you said, I haven't been in the Lower World for long. My Familia is completely destitute. The slightest wind or grass movement could mean I fail to protect Levi. Plus..."
At this point, the twin-tailed goddess seemed to try and maintain a serious expression, but if one looked closely, a faint blush was involuntarily creeping up her cheeks.
"Well, without activating my Arcanum, I can't quite handle him alone."