While Levi was diligently accumulating excelia in the Dungeon, Hestia, who was on the surface and taking a day off at home, slept in. After waking up, she didn't get out of bed right away. Instead, she hugged the blanket, which still carried the scent of her Familia member, burying her face in it from time to time to take a couple of sniffs.
"Hehehe~ Levi~ My good Levi~"
"Smells so good~ so hard~ so big~"
Her appearance was so lecherous that it left Hephaestus, who had been asked by Levi to bring her a meal, a bit stunned.
"Only today did I realize you were such a closet pervert."
"Yah!"
The voice that suddenly sounded by her ear clearly startled Hestia. But quickly realizing it was Hephaestus, she put her hands on her hips, puffed out her chest with a proud 'I have a boyfriend' look, and said, "Hephaestus, you're just jealous."
"Jealous?" Hephaestus curled her lips, her tone half-joking, half-serious. "You're not wrong. So, can you give me half of Levi?"
"Absolutely not." Hestia made an 'X' with her arms. "Levi is my child, and he can only belong to me."
"That intense possessiveness… honestly, if I couldn't see your face, I'd have thought that Freya had arrived."
"Her?" Hestia pouted. "That woman falls in love with one after another, only to cast them aside like worn-out shoes once she has them. She's forever chasing 'love,' or rather, the feeling of 'unrequited love.' For you to compare me to her, Hephaestus, you've gotten mean."
The red-haired, one-eyed goddess had only meant it as a joke; who would have thought her friend's reaction would be so strong.
But she wasn't foolish and quickly understood.
"Back in Tenkai, I recall your relationship with Freya wasn't this bad."
"Tenkai is Tenkai, and the Lower World is the Lower World." The twin-tailed goddess initially wanted to brush it off with that excuse, but seeing her friend's questioning gaze, she fell silent for a moment before answering softly, "That woman… has noticed Levi."
"Oh?" Hearing this, Hephaestus was a bit surprised, yet it also felt like everything fell into place.
But in the next moment, she noticed a flaw in her friend's words.
"Freya and Levi have never met, have they? Otherwise, you would have never been able to snatch up such a treasure before everyone else."
Hestia nodded. "That's true. At least from Levi's perspective, he has never met Freya."
Hearing this, Hephaestus smiled. "Well now~ that's a bit strange. The two of them have never even met, yet you already know your Familia member is being targeted. Why could that be? It's so~ hard to guess."
If anyone else had dared to be so sarcastic with her, Hestia might have already bared her teeth and snapped back.
But Hephaestus was, first, one of her few dear friends, and second, she had already guessed Levi's greatest secret.
So, after weighing her options, the twin-tailed goddess revealed the answer:
"Actually, even if I don't say anything, you'll probably find out once Tsubaki returns from the Dungeon. After all, there's no way Levi wouldn't use that magic."
"Magic?" Hephaestus raised an eyebrow.
Hestia nodded. "That's right. Magic. A magic called… 'The Goddesses' Loving Protection'."
When she mentioned the magic's name, her tone was clearly emphasized, and her expression was full of resentment.
And then…
"Pfft—"
A sudden snort of laughter echoed in the room.
Hephaestus clutched her stomach, unable to control her expression due to sheer amusement.
"Hahahaha… 'Goddesses', plural, 'Loving Protection'… Hahahaha… I can't, my stomach hurts… Hahahahaha…"
Hestia closed one eye and squinted the other at her friend.
"That's right, Goddesses', plural, Loving Protection. Any goddess who develops feelings for my Levi will have those emotions captured by this magic and converted into a specific blessing."
"By the way, the magic currently records three blessings."
"The first is my 'Pure White Love,' the second is Freya's 'Distorted Love,' and as for the third…"
Hestia paused deliberately.
Hephaestus, under her gaze, seemed to realize something. Her laughter stopped abruptly as if someone had pressed a pause button, and her expression gradually grew awkward.
"Uh, that… it couldn't be, right?"
"Ohhh~" Hestia crossed her arms, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Weren't you the one who just asked me to give you half of Levi, my dear friend, Ms. Hephaestus, who holds an 'Inquisitive Love' for my Familia member."
"Also, you can see the goddesses' favorability levels on the Falna. Right now, the one with the highest favorability for Levi is me, of course. But the one in second place… isn't Freya."
Sweat trickled down the red-haired, one-eyed goddess's forehead.
"Hephaestus, weren't you laughing so happily just now? Why did you stop? Are you naturally disinclined to smile?" Hestia twisted the knife.
The red-haired, one-eyed goddess, however, regained her composure after a short silence.
"I admit I'm very curious about Levi, but these feelings haven't yet escalated to the level of love."
Hestia actually understood this point, or she wouldn't have brought up the magic to tease her friend.
However…
"But you're bound to take that step in the future. After all, my Levi is just that full of mystery; he'll attract the goddesses' attention before you even know it."
Hephaestus fell silent upon hearing this.
She had played the yuri-couple game with Aphrodite in Tenkai for so long, so of course, she knew well that curiosity and inquiry could very easily turn into love.
Hestia's expression suddenly turned serious. "Hephaestus, didn't you say earlier you wanted to have half-ownership of Levi?"
The red-haired, one-eyed goddess nodded instinctively, then, realizing what she did, quickly added, "But that was just…"
—a joke between us.
Hephaestus didn't get to finish her sentence because Hestia's abrupt "I agree" left her completely stunned.
"You… you…"
The one-eyed goddess opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but couldn't sort out her thoughts.
Hestia, on the other hand, was calm. "Like you said, I only recently descended to the Lower World. My Familia is dirt-poor. The slightest trouble could mean I can't protect Levi. Plus…"
At this point, the twin-tailed goddess tried to maintain a serious expression, but a closer look would reveal an involuntary blush creeping onto her cheeks.
"Mm, without activating my divine power… I can't quite handle him on my own."
_______
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