"Let's sit down and talk this through."
Hephaestus's mind quickly cooled. There were too many matters to think through carefully. But before any real discussion could begin, everyone needed to calm down—otherwise, nothing meaningful could be said.
At her prompting, the gathered goddesses—though still visibly tense—each took their seats again.
The Hestia Familia residence was, for now, a safe place to talk.
Of course, that included the other goddess currently sharing Artemis's body.
Having regained some composure, Hestia stood up resolutely.
"Artemis, are you sure you're all right now?"
"Yes. Though what happened with Antares left a deep scar—my children were all killed protecting me—it's all right. I'm calm now."
Even as she spoke, the guilt and grief on Artemis's face were plain to see. The loss of her Familia was a wound that would never fade.
'Artemis…'
Hestia fully understood how she felt. If she had gone through something similar—if Bell had died before her eyes…
Just the thought made her chest tighten painfully.
"Artemis, at least you're still alive. We fought so hard to bring you back. You can't even think about returning to Tenkai now."
It was hard to blame Hestia for saying that. After all, the way Artemis had faced death before made it clear she'd been prepared to die and ascend back to the heavens.
"Don't worry, Hestia. Even if I wanted to, she wouldn't allow it. If I ever tried, she'd be the first to stop me."
As she finished speaking, a soft moonlit glow enveloped her body. When it faded, Artemis's form had changed completely.
Before them stood a goddess with long silver hair and a stunning, voluptuous figure.
With a proud air, she brushed her hair over her shoulder, crossed her arms, and spoke as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"Hmph. I finally found my Darling after all this, and you expect me to let such gloomy thoughts drag us down?"
Her eyes then fell squarely on Hestia, narrowing slightly before she sighed with mock exasperation, her tone dripping with mild disdain.
"Honestly, why is this world's Hestia such a shorty? The Hestia from my world is a gentle, elegant big sister. The difference is just too much."
"Sh—shorty!?"
Hestia shot up from her seat, her cheeks flushing red. She was already self-conscious about her height—among all the gods, she was near the bottom of the list. To be called out like that by another-world Artemis stung deeply.
But the Moon Goddess showed not a hint of regret. On the contrary, she leaned forward with bright curiosity, clearly intrigued.
"You… what are you doing?"
"Oh~ what a soft, rosy little face."
The Moon Goddess's eyes sparkled with excitement as she pinched Hestia's round, baby-fat cheeks. The soft, springy texture was absolutely delightful. If she did this to the Hestia from her own world—the dignified, big-sister type—it would be nothing short of treason. Poseidon and Hades would probably jump up from the underworld just to kick her for it.
"Mmm~ This world's Hestia is way cuter than that stern big sister version. And this face… how can it be so soft and squishy?"
The Moon Goddess couldn't stop herself from indulging in the sensation.
"Hey, hey! What do you think you're doing?!"
Hestia puffed out her cheeks in frustration, glaring as her face was being mercilessly squished. She clearly hated being treated like this.
But her sulky expression only made the Moon Goddess smile even wider.
Though this Hestia was shorter, she was undeniably the same goddess in essence. Pinching her cheeks like this almost felt like teasing that older, serious version instead.
Of course, the Moon Goddess would never dare to try this with her world's Hestia. If she did, the Olympian Familia Gods would beat her senseless—and not even her bratty little brother could save her from that mess...
"Phew~ that felt good."
As the Moon Goddess finally let go, Hestia immediately darted behind Hephaestus, her wary eyes fixed on the silver-haired woman. The Moon Goddess, however, only looked more amused.
Her gaze then shifted toward the others—especially the tall, statuesque Hephaestus standing protectively in front of Hestia.
"Hephaestus…"
In her world, that name belonged to a rugged, hammer-wielding man of the forge. But here, she was faced with a tall, elegant goddess with perfect curves. The contrast was almost jarring.
"So you're still a smith, huh? But I didn't expect you to be a goddess."
"Huh? So the me from your world is a god? That's… unexpected."
"I'm the one who's surprised."
The Moon Goddess's expression grew complicated. Her feelings were still a bit tangled, but she was at least grateful to have survived that chaotic world.
When she released her divine power to feel out this realm, she immediately noticed the heavy restrictions placed upon it.
"My divine power is being suppressed?"
"How strange. I'm not using her divine energy, so why is mine limited too?"
She had already learned about the restrictions placed on gods of this world after merging consciousness with Artemis—but having her own power restrained as well was unexpected.
"Isn't the reason obvious?" Hephaestus replied calmly. "The moment you appeared in this world, it created a link between your world and ours. You really think that's a normal occurrence?"
The Moon Goddess froze for a second before covering her mouth with a laugh.
"I see. So that's how Darling managed to pull me out of that hopeless situation."
There were clearly secrets hidden behind it all—ones she didn't yet understand.
She didn't know the full truth, but it was clear: the two worlds were now connected. And the cause of that connection… was her Darling, the one who saved her.
"Artemis… is it all right if I call you that?"
"Do as you like. I'm Artemis too, after all."
"Then tell me—what exactly happened when he saved you?"
...