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Daylight washed over a modern tropolitan cityscape.
Inside one of the apartnt complexes.
The room wasn't spotless. It was plain and a little dull, exactly the kind of living space you'd expect from an average man.
Usually, the apartnt felt a little cold and empty with August living there alone. But the mont a beautiful, petite goddess appeared inside, the whole room seed to warm up.
Just one mortal, and one Goddess.
"So this is your ho, August?"
Upon arriving, Hestia imdiately scanned the layout. The most prominent feature was the desk. A sleek, black rectangular object sat neatly atop it, accompanied by a glowing screen. Beside it was a comfortable-looking chair. A standard wooden wardrobe stood in the corner. Above the desk hung a white rectangular device bearing a snowflake symbol.
But most importantly—the bed.
It was fitted with a cooling mat over a rather large mattress.
"A double bed."
Hestia's eyes practically fired laser beams as she ruthlessly scanned the mattress. After a thorough inspection, she found a few stray hairs belonging to August, but nothing else. No trace of a second occupant.
'Ohoho, looks like he's single.' Hestia felt a surge of deep satisfaction.
Her Familia child was a bachelor. That was perfect.
"So this is your room?" Hestia hopped off August's back and took a closer look around. One glance out the window was enough to show her a bustling, prosperous world beyond.
This world was thriving.
She flopped backward onto the bed. The mattress absorbed her weight, making her feel as though she were floating on a cloud. Compared to the stiff wooden cots at Hephaestus's workshop, this bed was heaven.
But when she looked up at August, she noticed him awkwardly fidgeting, not sure where to put his hands.
"Oh?" Hestia raised an eyebrow, catching on imdiately.
Having her lounge on his bed was making him stiff and uncomfortable. She wasn't an oblivious Goddess.
A thought sparked in her mind. August was flustered because a girl was visiting his private space.
More importantly...
'Hehehe. August is treating like a woman.' Hestia realized he was viewing her not just as a goddess, but as a female peer.
If that was the case—she had a real chance here!
In truth, August normally would not have been this awkward around a woman. But this was a goddess. A goddess with scary, world-ending power and divine senses sharp enough to read his every micro-expression like an open book. It was hard not to feel completely exposed.
Around her, he had zero privacy.
"Say, Hestia. Are your powers sealed in this world, or do you have full access to them?" August asked, wondering whether she was restricted here, as she was in Orario.
"Full power, obviously!" Hestia answered honestly.
This was another world. The divine pact that sealed their powers in the lower world of Orario didn't apply here.
August couldn't even fathom the upper limits of an unsealed Goddess. Wiping a modern nation off the map would be effortless for her.
"Relax, I'm not going to do anything bad," Hestia assured him before patting her stomach. "By the way, August. Do you have any food?"
She was hungry. Even though her divine powers were unrestrained, her Falna contract with August ant her mortal avatar still experienced basic human needs while she was near him.
"Food..." August nodded. "What do you want?"
He opened his bedroom door and led the way to the living room. Hestia trailed right behind him.
She noticed the living room had a traditional layout, exuding a warm, cozy vibe.
Her gaze swept across the space. Next to a large black device, two frad photos sat on a neat, elevated shelf.
"What are those?" Hestia pointed at the photos.
"My parents' morial photos," August answered calmly.
He wasn't overly emotional about it, his parents had passed away from chronic overwork a while ago. This apartnt was the main inheritance they left him—one of the few physical mories he had left of them.
August walked over to the living room refrigerator. Opening it, he revealed a decent stash of drinks and snacks.
"Oh." Hearing it was his parents, Hestia stepped closer to the shelf and studied the nas beneath the photos.
Father: Arthur. Mother: Helen.
"Hello." Hestia didn't bow or perform a mortal prayer. She simply raised a hand in a casual, respectful greeting as an equal.
"Your parents must have been gentle people."
Judging by the ho's neat, practical layout and August's calm deanor, they were clearly decent people.
"You could say that," August replied plainly. He grabbed a few items from the fridge. "I don't have any actual als cooked right now. I'll order us so takeout."
"Here, drink sothing to hold you over."
"Milk, cola, or juice. Take your pick." August held up the bottles for her to see.
Faced with the options, she didn't hesitate.
"Cola. I want to try that."
She had drunk plenty of juice before. Milk was common in Orario too. But what the heck was 'cola'? If her child kept it stored inside this freezing box, it had to be delicious.
"Sure." August twisted the cap off a chilled bottle of cola and handed it to her.
Hestia took it and gulped it down.
"WOAH! THAT HITS THE SPOT!"
It was her first ti experiencing the bubbly bite of carbonation. The sugar rush exploded across her tastebuds. She had never tasted a beverage this refreshing in her long life.
This world's food was definitely sothing else.
She noticed August tapping away on a small, glowing rectangular device in his hand.
"What's that?" Hestia asked curiously.
"This? It's a smartphone." August gave the device a small wave. "I'm ordering takeout. It's basically a service that pays soone to pick up food from a restaurant and deliver it straight to our door."
"Eh? It's really that easy?!" Hestia's divine translation easily parsed the concept.
She couldn't get over how easy everything was. This world was far too comfortable. If she lived here for good, she probably would not last a single day before turning into a lazy shut-in.
Hestia felt herself inching one step closer to becoming a total freeloader.
(August Image)
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