—•——•——•——•——•——•—
After handling the guild business, August grabbed his freshly exchanged Valis and took Hestia and Liliruca Arde to the Hostess of Fertility.
Since he was already in Orario, skipping the famous tavern wasn't an option. The establishnt wasn't just run by a forr Freya Familia captain—it was staffed by a massive roster of retired and freelance female Adventurers. August wanted to experience the local atmosphere for himself.
Lili took the lead, guiding them through the streets.
"Well, if it isn't Lady Hestia. Back at my tavern already?"
"I just opened the doors. You're early."
As the owner, Mia Grand spotted Hestia walking in with her Familia—a Pallum Supporter and the heavily rumored 'monster rookie.'
Hestia knew the landlady's true identity from Dungeon rumors, but she stood her ground.
"Hmph! My kid just got back from crushing a monster legion!"
"We're celebrating! I'm treating my Familia to a massive feast."
"Hurry up and bring out everything on the nu."
"I want them to eat until they burst!"
Hestia patted her coin pouch, not worried about the bill. With August's skills, one Dungeon trip brought in millions, maybe even tens of millions, of Valis. At this rate, he could make billions a month. Paying for dinner was nothing.
"Oho? So this is the rumored monster rookie?"
"A bit pale and scrawny, but he's got decent height..." As an experienced fighter, Mia imdiately noticed that August's body hadn't been sculpted by years of intense training or battles. His fair skin and soft build resembled that of soone accustod to a comfortable, indoor life rather than a frontline warrior.
"..." But Mia knew better than to judge a book by its cover.
The feats August had achieved were things top-tier rookies couldn't dream of. Soloing a coordinated legion of monsters across multiple floors? The scale of that slaughter defied common sense. She admitted to herself that, back when she was a [Level 1], pulling off a stunt like that would have been impossible.
"Good evening, Miss Mia," August greeted.
He didn't show any discomfort at the sight of the heavily muscled dwarf. In a dieval setting like this, a robust physique was a badge of honor.
"Well, hello there, kid."
Mia noticed that August treated her with respect, not like most Adventurers. He didn't act wild or rough like many from Orario's lower ranks. He seed more like an educated person.
"Hmm. You've got good eyes... I'll make sure to treat you right tonight." Satisfied with his grounded attitude, Mia turned and yelled across the room. "Anya! Get over here and do your job!"
"Yes, yes, coming, nya!"
A cat-girl in a maid uniform trotted over. She eyed August up and down with obvious curiosity.
"You're pretty handso, mister! And you seem like a nice guy, too."
"I'm Anya. Please follow , nya!" Anya was nothing if not blunt. She liked August right away. He seed like a good guy, not one of those rude, drunken types.
"Nice to et you," August replied.
The group followed Anya and slid into their booth.
—•——•——•——•——•——•—
Once seated, Hestia didn't waste a second. She started rapid-firing her order while Anya scribbled down the dishes.
Lili stared in shock. The Goddess was ordering as if the nu were an all-you-can-eat buffet.
"LADY HESTIA, THIS IS WAY TOO MUCH! THIS AL IS GOING TO COST TENS OF THOUSANDS OF VALIS!"
Lili's heart hurt at the thought of spending so much. Spending tens of thousands on one al seed crazy.
"Tsk. Lili, this is just how our Familia operates," Hestia boasted.
She was telling the truth. The Hestia Familia's main rule was to never save up money.
Valis was only valuable within Orario. On Earth, it wasn't recognized as currency—it was simply tal. For trading between worlds, they had to rely on actual goods and commodities. Bartering was the only thod. So why hoard Valis? If you had it, you spent it.
"Huh?" Hearing this, Lili thought their way of handling money was a ss. Spending cash so freely seed reckless.
"August, isn't this a bit..."
She shot a desperate look at August, begging him to intervene.
But August simply nodded. "Lili, she's right. That's just how we do things. Currency like this is completely useless where I'm from. We spend it while we can. Zero hoarding."
August agreed. Saving up Valis was pointless. He'd rather buy so Magic Stone lamps and take them ho, where people would pay a lot for sothing so rare.
"You'll understand eventually... In our Familia, Valis is the lowest-tier resource we have."
August patted Lili on the shoulder. She would soon enough understand how things worked.
Lili's heart soared. Both Hestia and August had accepted her. All she had to do was take that final step and officially transfer her Falna. The more she thought about it, the brighter her mood beca.
"You two..."
Hephaestus rolled her eyes. She knew what Hestia and August ant. Trading between worlds was all about bartering. In that other world, Valis was almost worthless—less valuable than plain gold.
"Stop teasing the poor girl."
She couldn't stand her divine friend sotis. Hestia was swimming in unimaginable benefits and still acting smug about it. However, Hephaestus was here to freeload. If she didn't run up Hestia's tab tonight, she'd be doing her own envy a disservice.
Waiting for the food took a while.
As the sky outside darkened into dusk, Adventurers flooded into the Hostess of Fertility, lured in by the waitresses to drink their daily wages away.
"Here we are. Our tavern's signature dishes. Enjoy."
Mia Grand brought huge plates of food to August's table, clearly excited. These were VIPs. Having such big spenders in her tavern made her extra welcoming. She loved custors like this.
The tavern was full, the crowd was noisy, and the mood was lively.
Hestia raised her mug to kick off the feast.
"CHEERS!"
"CHEERS!"
The rest of the table raised their wooden mugs in unison.
Unlike the seasoned Adventurers, August preferred sweet juice or soda. To him, booze was only useful as a sleep aid.
Drinks kept coming, and the table beca loud and cheerful.
But the good mood wasn't going to last.
Suddenly, the lively mood dropped.
—•——•——•——•——•——•—
"What's wrong?"
Hestia's gaze locked onto a specific direction, spotting a very familiar face.
"Well, look who it is. Loki. Surprised you have the guts to show your face."
She wasn't wrong.
Standing in the entrance was the great and mighty Loki.
Dressed in her usual tomboyish attire, Loki strode into the tavern with her Familia executives trailing right behind her.
The very first thing she saw was her absolute least favorite person in the city.
"Shrimp..."
Loki had already read the field reports. Based on intel from her vice-captain, Riveria, and her precious Ais, Hestia's rookie was a walking anomaly.
The worst part? That damn shrimp had played dumb and hustled her.
Just thinking about it made Loki furious. She was the Goddess of Trickery, but she'd been fooled by soone she thought was an idiot. It was embarrassing.
Loki fud as she thought about how her smarts had been made a joke.
But resentnt aside, her deanor shifted the mont her gaze t August's.
"Yo. We et again... Looks like I underestimated you," Loki drawled, addressing the outsider.
She was gunning for so initial goodwill. If she could manage it, poaching him right out from under Hestia would be the ultimate payback.
Hearing soone address him mid-bite, August glanced over. "Good evening, Goddess Loki."
He gave a polite nod.
But the mont those words left his mouth, Loki's smug smile froze.
She slowly turned her head, staring at Hestia as if she were looking at a madwoman.
"Shrimp. Do you have any idea what you're doing?" Loki demanded, her gaze turning dead serious.
This wasn't like their first eting. This ti, Loki felt sothing was really wrong. She realized Hestia had gone too far.
Even Finn, Riveria, and Gareth—who were standing right behind her—noticed the sudden, interrogative change in their Goddess's tone. They exchanged quick glances and decided to step back and observe the aftermath. They needed to hear precisely what their Patron Goddess was accusing her of.
"What am I doing?" Hestia blinked, not worried at all. She knew she was following the rules exactly.
"That kid's ability to speak our language. YOU GAVE THAT TO HIM, DIDN'T YOU?"
Loki pointed out sharply. "The first ti we t, we Gods had to rely on our divine authority just to understand a word he said. Yet here we are on our second eting, and he's speaking flawless Orario Common."
"Mastering a city's language in a couple of days? Bullshit. You used your Divine Power to forcibly install a language module into his brain..."
"Otherwise, there's no way in hell anyone in this city would understand him."
Loki laid the accusation bare.
The Gods had an ironclad agreent in the lower world. Never use Divine Power. If caught breaking the seal, the punishnt ranged from a crippling fine to instant deportation back to Heaven.
August's fluency was a glaring red flag.
It was clear Hestia had used her powers to change him, making his speech co out in the local language.
As soon as Loki made the accusation, the whole tavern broke out in chaos.
Even Finn was shocked. He never thought this harmless-looking Goddess would dare use Divine Power on a rookie. It was the boldest thing he'd ever seen.
"Using Divine Power?"
"Are you serious?"
"Aren't the Gods supposed to have their powers sealed? How did she pull that off?"
Adventurers whispered frantically across the room. They had never seen a Goddess act with such blatant disregard for the rules.
"Hephaestus, you had to have known. Why didn't you stop the shrimp?"
Hearing the whispers, Loki didn't feel proud for exposing the truth. Instead, she thought her old friend had lost her mind.
Did she forget that using powers in the lower world was strictly forbidden? You dared to use it in secret?
Loki refused to believe Hephaestus was blind to this.
But Hephaestus just took a calm sip from her mug and put it down.
"I know," she nodded casually.
"Hestia granting August that language ability is perfectly in line with the Divine Contract. It doesn't even qualify as a violation."
Hephaestus stayed calm.
From the mont August spoke to her during their second eting, she knew Hestia had slipped him a dose of Divine Power. It was a quality-of-life fix to remove the language barrier.
Could she accuse Hestia of breaking the rules?
No. Because she hadn't broken a single one.
Even if Hestia unleashed her full unsealed might, it had absolutely nothing to do with the Divine Contract.
Why? Because she did it in another world.
A completely separate dinsion with zero connection to Orario.
Using Divine Power was legal. You couldn't expect a God to travel to an alien, unknown universe and willingly keep their powers sealed, right? Nobody was that stupid.
"Doesn't even qualify as a violation..."
In that mont, Loki's mind raced as she thought about what those words really ant.
"Besides, all she did was give the kid a translation module. It's not so grand, ga-breaking blessing," Hephaestus added.
"Even if you dragged this all the way to Ouranos, he would authorize it."
She fully supported Hestia's actions.
A gift like that was harmless. It wasn't a fighting cheat, just a way to help with talking. It wasn't real divine intervention. If Hestia had given out her true, world-ending powers, that would be a problem.
Hearing this, Loki finally understood. Hephaestus was certain that Hestia's use of Divine Power was legal and authorized.
"Tch. It seems the 'loophole' allowing her to do this is tied to your deepest secret," Loki muttered.
She knew there was no point in arguing more. This was part of the big secret about August and Hestia, and Hephaestus was involved, too.
"Kid."
Loki locked eyes with August. "I am very curious about you."
"What kind of man are you, that you've got the shrimp willingly flexing her Divine Power just to cover for you?"
She beca even more interested in August. She wanted to know his real secret.
"Hmph! My Familia would never abandon !"
"A washboard like you could never beat in a million lifetis!"
Hestia lifted her head, radiating pure, arrogant pride.
How could a fool like Loki ever understand how important August was to her? Plot aside, just the fact that August favored her and chose her as his undisputed first choice made her invincible among the Goddesses.
"You damn shrimp..." Getting mocked right to her face was the final straw.
Loki was so angry she wanted to grab a plate and throw it at Hestia's smug face.
"Whoa... Let's keep it to words. No need for violence."
Gareth Landrock, one of Loki Familia's top mbers, quickly stepped in. Seeing Loki about to throw a plate, he grabbed her arms to stop her.
It was just a few insults. Is it really worth throwing hands over?
But then again, he understood. Loki was proud of being a clever trickster, but she'd just been fooled by a Goddess she'd known for centuries.
There was no way Loki could just swallow that kind of humiliation.
"LET GO! I'M GOING TO KILL THAT SHRIMP!"
Loki thrashed around, hopping mad. Seeing the unapologetic, mocking gleam in Hestia's eyes only fueled her rage further.
—•——•——•——•——•——•—
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