Not just her.
The Holy Emperor, standing nearby, had also widened her silver-grey eyes slightly — clearly still unable to process what had just happened.
After all.
In the understanding they had only just formed, a god was supposed to be like Haimer.
Majestic.
Composed.
Someone whose every movement carried a power that could shake heaven and earth.
But this petite girl — sniffling, sobbing, with absolutely no care for her image —
It was genuinely difficult to connect her with a word as grand and lofty as "Familia."
Let alone with the word "god."
Haimer listened, and let out a somewhat helpless sigh.
He looked down at Hestia, who was still furiously rubbing her tears against his chest.
"Alright."
"Come down for a moment."
"People are watching."
Haimer reached out, grabbed the back of Hestia's collar, and — as if peeling a clingy little kitten off himself — applied just enough force to pry her loose.
"Mmm..."
Hestia sniffled and, with considerable reluctance, let go and dropped her feet back to the ground.
But her hand still clung stubbornly to the hem of Haimer's clothes, as though terrified he'd vanish the instant she released it.
Only then did Hestia seem to finally register something, and she turned her head to take in the four other people standing by the entrance.
Her gaze swept over them.
The Holy Emperor's white gown — dusty, but still unmistakably regal.
Tendou Kisara's black sailor uniform, a black-and-red pair of tachi resting in her hands.
Aihara Enju's somewhat worn but adorably cut dress.
And Hiruko Kohina — crouched atop the door frame, spinning two short blades between her fingers, staring at Hestia with open, shameless curiosity.
Four of them. All girls.
"Again, they're all chi—"
Hestia muttered under her breath, the corner of her mouth giving an involuntary twitch.
Though she had already steeled herself for it.
After all, Haimer's very first batch of Familia members had been girls, every last one of them.
But this time, another four...
Hestia's gaze lingered for a beat on the unmistakably well-developed figures of the Holy Emperor and Tendou Kisara.
...
Well.
Since these were new recruits Haimer had brought home.
As a goddess who also lived here, she still needed to maintain some shred of dignity.
And so.
Hestia released her grip on Haimer's hem, haphazardly wiped the tear-tracks from her face with the back of her hand, and straightened her posture.
She even made a point of tidying the blue ribbon at her chest.
Attempting to project an air of authority.
"Ahem."
Hestia cleared her throat, trying to make her voice sound as steady as possible.
"I am Hestia."
"Chief Deity of the Hestia Familia."
"Though we don't currently have any Familia members... that's not important."
"Since Haimer brought you here, we're all family from now on."
With that, she even tilted her chin up slightly, the way the great gods do, and offered what she considered a composed, dignified smile.
"A g— A god?!"
At that self-introduction.
The Holy Emperor and Tendou Kisara exclaimed almost simultaneously.
The two exchanged a glance, each seeing the same shock reflected in the other's eyes.
This twin-tailed girl — who looked even younger than them, and had only moments ago been hanging off Haimer and crying her eyes out —
Was also a god?
And now that they thought about it... Hestia.
That was the goddess of the hearth from Greek mythology.
"Are you... the legendary goddess of the hearth herself — Hestia-sama?"
The Holy Emperor asked with a touch of hesitation, an instinctive note of reverence slipping into her voice.
"Indeed."
Hestia accepted it with satisfaction, nodding and planting both hands on her hips.
"Correct. That's me."
However.
That "divine dignity" she had worked so hard to maintain did not last three seconds.
Because.
Aihara Enju, who had been standing quietly beside Tendou Kisara, suddenly stepped forward.
She leaned in toward Hestia with undisguised curiosity, raising her hand to measure the tops of their heads side by side.
Then she raised her eyes toward Haimer.
"Kami-sama."
"Hestia-sama seems to be... even shorter than me."
...
Time seemed to stop.
Hestia went quiet upon hearing those words.
"Me too, me too!"
And then.
Hiruko Kohina couldn't hold herself back a second longer. With a sharp clack of her small boots, she marched straight over and drew herself up to her full height beside Hestia.
She was only ten years old.
But years of intensive combat training had done wonders for Hiruko Kohina's physical development.
Just like Aihara Enju, she made a point of standing perfectly straight — and came up five or six centimeters taller than Hestia.
"I'm taller than her too!"
"Kami-sama, is this weak-looking little shrimp actually a god?"
Hiruko Kohina held her hand over the top of Hestia's head, comparing heights.
Snap.
Something inside Hestia's mind broke clean in two.
Little shrimp... weak-looking...
Those words drove straight through Hestia's chest like an arrow through the heart.
"W-Who are you calling a little shrimp?!"
Hestia exploded.
Every last trace of her "goddess composure" vanished without a trace.
She even hopped furiously on her toes in a desperate bid to add a few extra centimeters, her blue ribbon swaying wildly with every stomp.
"I am a god who has lived for hundreds of millions of years!"
"What do you little brats who've barely scraped past ten know about anything?!"
"This is called concentrated! Do you even understand concentrated?!"
"And besides—"
Face flushed crimson, Hestia shouted at the top of her lungs, as if trying to claw back some lost ground:
"I'm at least taller than that short little bear-rider from Haimer's place!!"
...
Meanwhile.
On the staircase connecting the third floor to the second floor of Orario's Dungeon.
A fully loaded party was making their way upward.
At the front.
Was Hanasaka Warabi, perched atop a Kyoubou's back.
"Achoo!"
Without warning, Hanasaka Warabi let out a massive sneeze, lurched in her seat, and nearly toppled clean off the Kyoubou.
"What's wrong?"
Onigawara Rin, walking beside her, cast a brief glance over without breaking her vigilance, one hand resting on the sheath of her Black Crow.
"No idea..."
Hanasaka Warabi rubbed her nose and looked around in mild bewilderment.
"I've just got this feeling someone's been talking trash about me somewhere."
As the old saying goes — walls have ears, and doors have eyes.
—
Back at the mansion entrance.
Watching Hestia — by now nearly puffed up to the size of a blowfish — wage war over heights against two ten-year-olds, Haimer could only sigh with resigned exasperation.
He reached out and ruffled Hestia's head with practiced ease.
Smoothing her ruffled feathers.
"Alright, alright."
"Height doesn't matter."
"What matters is presence, right?"
Hestia let out a few grumbling huffs. Still a little sulky, but soothed enough under Haimer's hand to stop her outburst — though her cheeks remained puffed out.
Haimer, reading the situation, smoothly changed the subject.
"Alright, let's talk business."
"You've been home all day — has Onigawara Rin and the others made it back from the Dungeon yet?"
At the mention of actual business, Hestia collected herself and shook her head.
"Not yet."
"I slept in today — they'd already left by the time I got up. Haven't seen them since."
"I see..."
Haimer glanced at the sky.
Orario's dusk was well underway; nightfall was drawing close.
The Dungeon had no day or night of its own, but an adventurer's internal clock still followed the rhythms of the surface world.
Normally, they'd be about due back by now.
"In that case..."
"What about Kirukiru?"
Haimer swept his gaze around the living room.
That tall silhouette was nowhere to be seen.
By all rights, after last night's ordeal, she should still be in bed recovering.
"That fierce woman?"
At the name, Hestia pursed her lips, a distinct note of sourness bleeding into her voice.
"She got up around noon, wandered the house looking for you, found nothing, and her face went black as a burnt pan."
"Then she chugged that entire bottle of medicine you'd left on the bedside table, and walked straight out the door."
"Said she needed to blow off some steam in the Dungeon."
As she said that, Hestia found herself thinking back to what she'd seen when she'd snuck a peek into the master bedroom that morning.
That woman, draped in Haimer's oversized shirt, asleep in Haimer's bed — the entire room steeped in some indescribable, unmistakably intimate scent.
Just thinking about it made her blood boil!
Haimer, for his part, wasn't particularly surprised.
That was simply Amou Kirukiru's nature.
A pure combat fanatic. A battle-obsessed creature, through and through.
Having downed that special high-grade recovery potion, combined with her newly upgraded Lv.2 status values and a physical constitution that had long since surpassed any ordinary human's — even after the utterly exhausting "battle" of last night had drained her body to the dregs, the exhilaration pulsing through her mind would not settle easily.
If she didn't go down to the Dungeon and carve up a few monsters to burn off that surplus energy, she'd probably tear the house apart.
And going solo in the Dungeon at her current level should pose no real issue.
"In that case."
With that settled in his mind, Haimer clapped his hands and made a decision.
"Perfect — I've just recruited some formidable new members."
"And everyone hasn't eaten yet; we've all had quite the journey."
"How about we head straight to the plaza below Babel Tower and wait for them there?"
"Once we pick them up, we'll all go get a proper meal — and throw a little welcome party for the newcomers."
Saying that, Haimer glanced over at Hestia, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
"Tonight — the [Hostess of Fertility]?"
"Order whatever you want. I'm paying."
"YAAAY!!!"
Hestia, who had been wearing the face of a wronged wife just moments ago — agonizing over centimeters — did a complete one-eighty in an instant, latched back onto Haimer's arm, and cheered with all the abandon of a child on festival day.
"I want fried potato puffs! And hamburger steak! And that really expensive fruit wine!"
"Haimer, you're the absolute best!"
Watching this goddess perform an instant weather flip from thunderstorm to clear skies — with absolutely no apparent self-awareness —
The Holy Emperor and the others fell into silence.
"Um..."
The Holy Emperor hesitated for a moment, then finally couldn't resist asking Haimer in a small, cautious voice:
"Kami-sama..."
"Are gods around here... all like this?"
This was just too... down-to-earth.
It had completely shattered everything she thought she understood about gods.
Haimer looked down at the little accessory dangling off his arm, then glanced back at the thoroughly bewildered Holy Emperor, and shrugged.
"You'll get used to it."
"This is Orario, after all."
"Here, gods are just a bunch of willful creatures who, after acquiring infinite time on their hands, decided all they want to do is have fun."
"But..."
Haimer smiled, his eyes warm.
"Isn't that precisely what makes it more interesting?"
Decision made, no one lingered.
After a quick once-over.
Haimer led the whole group — Hestia dangling off his arm like an accessory, plus the four newcomers fresh to this world — and set off from the mansion in a grand, boisterous procession.
"Alright. Let's move."
Haimer clapped his hands, and that single clean sound settled everything.
With that signal, the ridiculous height debate that had erupted at the doorstep was officially turned over and left behind.
Hestia trotted eagerly to Haimer's left, even going out of her way to edge half a step ahead of everyone else — staking her claim as the "senior companion" through sheer proximity.
The Holy Emperor followed quietly.
Tendou Kisara and Aihara Enju exchanged a glance and quickly fell into step as well.
Hiruko Kohina was the most energetic of all — she launched herself off the ground in one leap, her two short blades spinning at her fingertips so fast they left silver streaks hanging in the air.
"Wow! So this is a street in another world!"
"It's so wide!"
"What's inside those glowing lights?! Can I cut one open to check?!"
Hiruko Kohina perched herself atop a street lamp.
"No."
Haimer didn't even turn around. He just let those two flat syllables drop behind him.
"Oh..."
Kohina's blades froze in an instant. She deflated with a pout, and obediently reined herself in — though those bright red eyes of hers remained entirely untameable, darting restlessly in every direction.
And so the whole group made their way through the quiet lanes of the upscale residential district in full, lively force.
When they rounded that corner.
Orario's main boulevard.
For anyone setting eyes on it for the first time, it was nothing short of a staggering visual assault.
Broad stone-paved roads stretched out ahead of them, the Magic Stone lanterns already beginning to glow, casting brilliant light down the full length of the street.
...
The boulevard was alive with foot traffic, bustling and vibrant.
But what shocked Tendou Kisara and the others most was the sheer diversity of races moving through the crowd.
No longer a world of humans alone.
"Is that... a cat?"
Aihara Enju pointed at a young girl on the roadside peddling fruit, eyes going wide.
The girl had a pair of fluffy cat ears atop her head, and a long, slender tail swaying lazily back and forth behind her.
"Those are Cat People."
Haimer explained.
"And over there — that's a Dog Person."
"That stocky fellow over there, the one with the bushy beard and the greataxe, standing about one and a half meters tall — that's a Dwarf."
"This is a city where many races coexist."
All of this.
Was like pulling the illustrations straight from a fantasy novel and breathing them into life.
For people who had come from the G-404 world — where "Cursed Children" were driven out and treated as monsters — a scene like this felt as unreal as something out of a dream.
"Is that... a pig?"
Aihara Enju suddenly tugged at Haimer's sleeve, pointing at a burly man not far off who had a pig's snout and a pair of tusks, her voice dropping to a hushed exclamation.
That burly man was hauling half a carcass over his shoulder, loudly haggling with the vendor beside him.
"That's a Pig Person."
Haimer said offhandedly, and gently pressed Enju's pointing finger down.
"Here, they're all intelligent races, the same as humans."
"Don't point at people — it's rude."
"Oh..."
Aihara Enju hurriedly pulled her gaze back — but the curiosity blazing in her eyes was something she couldn't have hidden even if she'd tried.
____
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