With Hephaestus stepping out to manage the crowd, only Hestia and August remained in the room.
Mortal and Goddess sat close together in the quiet workshop.
August studied the simple, worn hair ties fastening Hestia's twin-tails.
"Co to think of it... since this is our first eting," August began, reaching for the travel backpack he had hauled all the way to this city.
Alongside his basic survival supplies, he had packed a few specific items just for this occasion. Pushing aside the mundane gear, August pulled out a pair of brand-new, premium hair ribbons.
The fabric was woven with delicate, beautiful embroidery, depicting an elegant fla crest.
"This is..." Hestia blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected him to produce a gift right out of the gate.
As she examined the ribbons, her eyes began to sparkle. She traced her fingers over the embroidered flas. There was no mistaking the craftsmanship. This wasn't so mass-produced textile woven by magic—it was authentic, hand-stitched embroidery.
"A gift for ?" Her bright blue eyes widened with joy.
A gift!!
The very first gift from her very first Familia child.
"Waaaaaaaaahhhhh! August!" Tears of happiness stread down the Goddess's face. She launched herself forward, tackling him into a tight, affectionate hug.
"It's nothing, really," August chuckled, patting her back. "I bought it hoping to bribe you into giving a Falna."
With Hestia clinging so closely to him, August couldn't ignore the flawless softness of her skin—a texture far beyond that of any mortal. He shifted awkwardly. The Goddess was definitely enthusiastic.
When dealing with Gods, mixing half-truths with lies was a fool's errand. Their senses saw right through mortal deception. These eternal beings had lived for eons. They invented every trick, trap, and sweet-talking routine in the book.
Only honesty could earn their trust.
"YOU PASS." Hestia listened to his heartbeat and breathing. His tone, body language, and micro-expressions remained steady.
More importantly, her passive divine senses confird his integrity.
"But... August, were you really that certain I would let you join?" She noticed a quiet confidence in him. From the mont he walked through the door, he seed to know she would take him in.
"I know your story," August replied. "Back in my world, the myths of Hestia paint a very specific picture."
"Goddess of the Hearth. Goddess of the Sacred Fire. But most importantly—the Goddess of Family."
"A Goddess representing the ho. You might play a supporting role in the grand myths, but you are known as a gentle, benevolent Goddess." He offered his honest perspective.
"Most Familias operate as established military units. They wouldn't bother recruiting a lone wolf with zero combat experience. But coming to you... I knew I'd find a place."
"I know exactly where I stand." He scratched the back of his neck, looking a bit embarrassed. "So, thank you, Hestia."
Watching his reserved deanor, Hestia felt a warm flutter in her chest.
She knew he had sought her out with a bit of calculation in mind. But this traveler was transparent about his intentions. He owned up to it.
"Ahhh, I'm feeling sothing..." Hestia decided that falling for August might not be a bad thing at all.
But the mont those words left her mouth—
"Feeling what, exactly?"
The heavy workshop doors swung open, revealing several imposing figures standing in the entryway. The sudden intrusion abruptly cut off their mont.
Leading the pack was a red-haired Goddess with perpetually squinted eyes—and a chest flatter than a washboard. Following close behind her was a Goddess of paralyzing beauty, radiating an allure that could enslave a mortal soul with a single glance.
Several unfamiliar male Gods trailed behind them.
And standing out among the figures was a chubby, middle-aged elf who looked like a corrupt rchant ripe for the gallows.
"Oh? If it isn't Loki." Hestia raised an eyebrow at the squinting Goddess, instantly recognizing the intruder. "What dragged you all the way down here?"
It was her eternal rival, Loki.
"Tch." Loki scrutinized Hestia. The petite Goddess was practically glowing with smug pride, looking like a cat that just swallowed the canary.
Her heart sank.
Ignoring Loki, Hestia imdiately leaped in front of August, throwing her hands over his eyes.
"DON'T LOOK!"
"If you stare at her, she'll steal your soul!" Hestia acted like a fiercely protective mother hen, desperate to block his line of sight to Freya. She panicked the second she realized August had already caught a glimpse of the Goddess of Beauty.
But as August laid eyes on Freya, sothing unexpected happened. He acknowledged her beauty with a passing glance, and imdiately, an intense, searing heat began to radiate from his body.
"Impressive... She really lives up to the title of Goddess of Beauty," August muttered.
He hadn't expected a single glance to forcibly trigger his passive skill: [Charm/Fla Resistance]. And that was with her charm mostly suppressed.
It seed the resistance operated like an active defense chanism. To scale it up against a full-power divine charm, he would likely need to increase his own base stats.
When August spoke, every God in the room—Loki, Freya, and the others—instantly recognized the anomaly. Excluded only the mortal elf, the Gods heard a language entirely foreign to Orario. They had to rely purely on their divine authority to auto-translate his words and cultural context.
Loki raised an eyebrow. She noticed August observing Freya with detached appreciation. No blushing, no frantic infatuation, no lust—he assessed her the way one might admire an expensive, delicate vase.
The Gods clearly sensed the burst of searing heat radiating from his body.
"This child must be the source of that pillar of light," Freya touched her cheek, her silver eyes studying August with deep fascination. "And that heat... is that a defensive Skill?"
Through her Eyes of Truth, she observed his soul. It wasn't the brilliant, blinding light of a fated hero, nor was it a pristine, flawless white. It was an ordinary, grounded hue—the color of a common mortal.
Yet, this seemingly ordinary boy had just resisted her charm on reflex. It had to be a specialized Skill.
How fascinating. The origin of that divine anomaly.
"Hephaestus ntioned the shrimp was giving a Falna to her first child," Loki drawled. "I believe it now."
To possess a Skill capable of nullifying Freya's charm right at level one, before even recording a single status update, was unheard of.
And she knew he was a fresh recruit. Loki scanned August's physique. The signs were obvious. He had the build of a grown man, but his hands lacked the heavy calluses of a warrior. One look was enough to confirm he had never swung a sword in the Dungeon.
"Hey, shrimp. Where did you dig up this jackpot?"
A human kid immune to Freya's allure, speaking a foreign tongue, carrying himself like an outsider.
He was a rare gem.
—•——•——•——•——•——•—
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