Chapter 326 - Hestia: See for yourself
"Got all the reports?" Loki said, slamming the table with authority. "Then let's start with the first…"
Her gaze settled on the stack of documents detailing adventurers who'd ranked up to Level 2 for this Denatus.
With a pointed glance at Hestia, she announced, "We'll begin with Mar's Seth."
"Please, have mercy!" Mars, a dignified war god, wailed, his face crumpling as he begged his peers for leniency.
"Decided! Adventurer Seth Selti, alias Dark Flame Saintess!" Loki proclaimed.
Mars collapsed, clutching his chest in shame.
Such was the Denatus—a crucible of cringe-worthy aliases.
Mischievous gods, chasing laughs that doubled them over, unleashed titles that left adventurers mortified.
Their love for mortal culture mirrored human tastes, their sensibilities no loftier despite their divinity.
They were like children.
But their naming sense was an exception.
Gods, past their chuunibyou phase, crafted aliases that adventurers—still steeped in that adolescent bravado—found epic.
To the gods, these were painfully gauche.
Proud recipients strutted under their new titles, while gods cackled at their expense, delighting in the chaos.
Many such aliases, absurd as they were, would echo as "myths" in later generations.
"Imagine telling your kid, 'Your great-grandpa was Orario's famed Dark Flame,'" a god snickered.
As the Denatus rolled on, a parade of mortifying titles emerged.
Hestia watched her fellow gods, some clutching their heads in despair, with pity, her own nerves taut.
"Mahiro's not up yet…" she murmured, gripping a parchment with his details.
"Loki's dragging this out," Hephaestus sighed.
"She's saving Mahiro for the finale on purpose."
As a Denatus veteran, she knew how agonizing the wait was for a Familia's main god.
"Hmph!" Hestia huffed, frustrated.
She'd come braced for a swift ordeal, but Loki was toying with her, dangling Mahiro's moment like a weight over her heart, stoking her anxiety.
"He's a unique child. Everyone's eager," Demeter said, her smile serene.
The torturous spectacle continued, cycling through smaller Familia before reaching Orario's major players—Apollo's, Ganesha's, then Ishtar's, their prominent members' aliases declared one by one.
All but one Familia remained.
"Quiet! The farce ends here. Last one," Loki said, holding a single scroll.
It detailed a young man, sparse in content but stamped with the Guild's glaring "Rank-Up Confirmed."
Loki's knowledge of Mahiro was limited to their Guild encounter; Ais and Riveria had kept details sparse, likely to curb her penchant for chaos.
"Finally," a god muttered.
"That's the one!"
"Hestia's child!"
The gods' curiosity surged, some shouting in excitement.
"Hestia, before we settle the alias, one question," Loki said, her eyes locking onto Hestia.
"I'm sure everyone here wants the same answer."
Hestia rose, meeting Loki's gaze unflinchingly.
"Explain this," Loki demanded, slamming Mahiro's profile onto the table.
"How is this possible?"
"Ais took a full year for her first rank-up—a year! And this kid does it in three days? Are we fools?"
Ais had set Orario's record for fastest rank-up, a feat that shook the world.
Mahiro's three-day rank up obliterated it at an absurd pace.
"Our falna isn't that simple," Loki pressed. "If we could transform a child's power in a month, we wouldn't toil so hard."
"It's not just an accelerator—it unlocks latent potential, shaping abilities, skills, and magic through experience. Like seeds in soil, they bloom differently by environment. So, what's with him?"
"Don't project your limits onto Mahiro," Hestia shot back. "Your children's failures don't mean he can't succeed."
"Explain!" Loki growled.
"Enough, Loki," a melodic voice cut in.
The gods turned, startled, toward Freya, lounging in her seat. She waved dismissively.
"We agreed not to meddle in each Familia's affairs. Probing Mahiro's details crosses that line."
"I know the rules," Loki snapped.
"But this absurdity demands answers. As host, I'm entitled to question it."
"Why the interference?" Freya asked, tucking a strand of silver hair behind her ear, her tone bored yet commanding.
"Drama's brewing!"
"The top Familia's stepping in!"
"This Denatus is wild!"
The gods buzzed with excitement, relishing the standoff.
"Not good, Hestia," Hephaestus murmured.
"What's wrong?" Hestia asked, her relief at Freya's intervention fading.
"Your child's caught Freya's eye," Demeter warned.
"How?" Hestia's heart sank, a premonition stirring.
"Freya's drawn to adventurers with radiant souls," Hephaestus explained.
"Every one she's targeted has been exceptional. Mahiro's status makes him a prime target."
"I'd rather everyone focus on him than just Freya," Hestia said, steeling herself.
She raised her voice. "You want to know why Mahiro ranked up in three days?"
"Spill it, Hestia!"
"Share the trick!"
"We're dying here!"
The gods urged her on.
"See for yourselves," Hestia said, pulling a folded paper from her pocket—Mahiro's status sheet.
"Let me look first," Demeter said, snatching it as the closest god. Her jaw dropped into a perfect 'O' at the contents.
"Don't hog it, Demeter! Pass it over!" a youthful-looking goddess demanded.
"No! You shouldn't see this," Demeter said, clutching the paper protectively, as if guarding a sacred relic.
"Too sneaky, Demeter! No secrets!" the goddesses cried, leaping from their seats to wrestle the paper from her.
Chaos erupted, the Denatus descending into a frenzied scramble.
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