The third floor of the mansion.
Moonlight mixed with the dim scene outside, speaking of the quiet of the night.
Bell stood in the hallway, silently looking out the window.
"Bell, I did exactly what you told to do."
Moonlight fell across her long golden hair, as though it were dusted with a beautiful layer of frost.
The mont Bell turned around, Laurier offered up her cherry-red lips as if asking for a reward.
Bell stepped forward and gently t them.
Give an order, then give a reward.
Even though they were lovers whose hearts were completely in sync, that kind of dynamic really did not suit them.
And yet, Laurier loved it.
Bell felt that probably had sothing to do with the almost blind devotion of her love.
A sweet, sugary taste spread through his mouth.
Little by little, Laurier gave herself over to that affection and took the lead.
She wrapped her arms around Bell's shoulders and slipped her soft, nimble tongue toward him.
Caught up in that unrestrained passion, Laurier lowered her hands, clearly wanting to go further.
"The bathroom's right behind you. What are you thinking?"
Bell gently stroked Laurier's golden hair.
Steam drifted out through the crack in the door before him, carrying a faint warmth with it.
The girls' voices were muffled by the door, hazy and indistinct, impossible to make out clearly.
Bell was waiting for Hestia to co out.
After dinner, with Mikoto starting it, everyone ca to the sa decision.
Before telling them about the Black Goliath, they would take a bath first, wash away the gri, and settle their still-shaken nerves.
"Anyway, I can make you invisible, so doing it here would be fine, right?"
A faint silver thread lingered at Laurier's lips, as though it carried her reluctance to part.
"..."
Before Bell could answer, Laurier flashed him a playful smile.
She licked her lips and brushed back her golden hair.
"I'm just kidding. We can save that for later, but... tonight, you have to stay with ."
After returning from the Dungeon, Laurier told Bell the information she had gathered.
According to the gods, Hestia had broken down crying in the middle of Denatus.
Since the center of the topic was the so-called useless goddess, it did not cause much of a stir in Orario.
With Artemis comforting her, and with so belated embarrassnt setting in, Hestia's mood had already improved a little.
But once night fell, Hestia suddenly lost control without any warning.
"What's wrong?"
"Bell... Bell... Bell... uuu... Bell..."
No matter how Artemis tried to comfort her, Hestia gave no response.
It was as if she had lost her soul as she ran toward the door.
But Hestia did not even have the strength to walk. She only managed to move a step before her whole body collapsed to the floor.
A cup flew over her head and shattered on the ground.
The tea that had been ant to calm her emotions spilled all over her.
"Bell..."
Hestia raised an arm, trying to push herself up, but before her slender fingers could even touch the table, they dropped weakly.
She curled into herself, pressing both hands tightly against her chest as if trying to hold sothing back.
Only then did the tears co pouring out.
"Uuu..."
Hestia lay on the floor, crying uncontrollably.
"What happened?"
Artemis held Hestia up.
Her dear friend, who had once been so lively and always laughing and playing with her, now looked like an empty doll that had lost its soul.
All she did was cry.
"Did sothing happen to Orion?"
"If it did, I'll go into the Dungeon and find him right now!"
Artemis gripped Hestia's shoulders tightly, tears rising in her own eyes as well.
"Uuu..."
The only answer Artemis got was sobbing.
Biting her lip, she imdiately raised her right hand and slapped Hestia sharply across the cheek.
"You're his Familia Goddess! Tell ! What happened to him?!"
Through Artemis's blurred vision, a bright red handprint appeared on Hestia's face.
"Please... Hestia... tell ..."
Artemis sat down on the floor and wrapped her arms around Hestia, shoulder to shoulder.
Her lips trembled nonstop, and as though Hestia's grief had infected her, tears kept spilling out.
Gods could sense the Falna of their followers. That was a privilege unique to the Familia God.
When a follower died, that bond was severed completely.
The mont Artemis saw Hestia like that, the worst possibility sprang to mind.
"Uuu... Bell... he... he's fine..."
Hestia forced out the broken words from her throat.
"Huh...? Then why are you crying?!"
Relief washed over Artemis, only for it to be replaced at once by a burst of anger.
Hestia had started crying so suddenly that even Artemis had been terrified, to the point that she could not stop her own tears.
"Uuu... I thought about Bell... and it made want to cry..."
Hestia answered through sobs.
"You really are... This was your fault to begin with, so you can't bla for that slap just now."
Artemis laughed through her tears.
At Denatus, Hestia had cried in front of all the gods while confessing her feelings for Bell.
If sothing had truly happened to Bell, then no matter how heartbroken she was, Hestia would never have lied to her.
Because of that, Artemis simply assud Hestia had rembered sothing that made her lose control again, and did not think too deeply about it.
By the ti the girls noticed the two goddess crying, Hestia was slumped over the table, tear stains mixed with the handprint on her face, looking thoroughly miserable.
Hestia did not say much. She only stared blankly at the night sky, with no one knowing what she was thinking.
...
Bell knew nothing about what had happened between the two goddesses.
By the ti it happened, Laurier had already gone to the Dungeon.
As one of the people involved, Bell could only piece together the rough situation from Rethusa's words and Hestia's reaction.
The effect of the [Sacred Fla] had probably been greater than he imagined.
So, when he went back to his room to change clothes, Bell deliberately had Laurier act intimately with him in the dining hall to test his guess.
Hestia had most likely realized that one of her followers had gone through death once.
Because Bell had been restored to perfect condition by the [Sacred Fla], Hestia had not told Artemis or the other girls about it.
After all, if Artemis learned the truth, her attitude would naturally change as well.
After reaching that conclusion, Bell decided to talk to Hestia.
Aside from the matter of the Sacred Fla, he also needed to confess that the dagger had shattered and ask further about the origin of Hestia's Knife.
That was why Bell waited outside the bathroom, leaving Hestia no chance to avoid him.
"What's wrong? Are you really that curious about what's going on in there, Bell?"
Laurier smiled softly. "I can turn you invisible and take you in, you know."
"You should go wait for in my room."
Bell stroked Laurier's golden hair.
"Mmm..."
Laurier nodded lightly.
She did not ask who Bell was waiting for here, nor did she voice the worry in her heart.
She simply turned around and left in silence.
After so ti, the door opened.
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