Early in the morning, a group had already gathered in front of Daedalus Central Square. Most of them were from Loki Familia and Hephaestus Familia.
This expedition was initiated by Loki Familia, while Hephaestus Familia sent along a large number of craftsmen to handle weapon repairs and forging. Naturally, the main participants this time were members from these two Familias.
Of course, there was one more Familia, unmentioned, with only a single member—Hestia Familia.
Because Hestia Familia only had one member, few even realized it was also participating in this expedition led by Loki Familia.
To see their children off, Loki, Hephaestus, and Hestia had all shown up today.
There were even a few people present who normally wouldn't be.
For instance, Dionysus, dressed in elegant attire, accompanied by a black-haired elf girl.
And Hermes, wearing his familiar feathered cap, followed by the Hermes Familia captain, "Perseus" Asfi.
"Dionysus, didn't think I'd see you here too."
As an old acquaintance, Hermes immediately strolled over when he spotted him, slinging an arm around Dionysus's shoulder like they were the best of friends.
Dionysus glanced at the hand on his shoulder with a blank expression, restraining the urge to slap it off. Why did this shameless guy always manage to irritate him so much?
"Hermes, stop greeting me like this."
"Oh? You mean you're not happy to see me?"
"Do I look happy to you? I came to accompany my child to see off her friend, and then I run into you."
Dionysus didn't bother to sugarcoat anything when talking to Hermes—he might as well have had the word 'annoyed' written across his face.
But Hermes just brushed it off with his usual grinning shamelessness.
"Don't be like that. We're both Familia Gods here to send off our children—how often does that happen?"
Dionysus still looked annoyed, but he was curious about Hermes showing up today.
"Your kid has a friend going on this expedition too?"
"Not exactly. More like... partners."
There was a hint of sentimentality in Hermes's tone as he glanced at Asfi beside him, a trace of regret showing on his face.
"My child's a bit older than yours, and because of that, she doesn't have many friends her age."
"...Isn't that your fault? Don't you ever think about why your kid ended up with so few friends?"
In Dionysus's view, this was clearly Hermes's doing. The guy was always unreliable—that was the real issue.
Even Dionysus, an outsider, knew just how much Asfi had to deal with on a daily basis.
Hermes, of course, just laughed it off as usual.
"That's a Familia God's way of training their children. If it weren't for me, my Asfi wouldn't have grown this quickly."
Dionysus nearly rolled his eyes at that shameless remark. This guy really knew how to glorify himself.
At that moment, Dionysus also noticed Hestia standing among the crowd.
"Hestia? Her child is part of this expedition too?"
Dionysus was fairly familiar with Hestia—they had interacted quite a bit in the past. At the very least, he believed she was different from many other gods, someone worth befriending.
"Ah, her kid's mostly just tagging along."
"The one who collaborated with Hephaestus before—that was her child. Looks like Loki Familia's expedition is more of a learning experience for them."
"Oh, so those Rune Stones that caused such a stir were made by Hestia's child?"
"You didn't know?"
Hermes widened his eyes in mock surprise.
Dionysus gave him a blank look. Why did Hermes always act like he was supposed to know everything?
"I knew about her working with Hephaestus, and even her involvement with Loki. But I've barely heard anything about Hestia having a child."
Dionysus had long been curious about what kind of person Hestia's child was, but that kid had barely ever appeared in public...
While he could look up the basic info, that kind of snooping just felt unpleasant to him. It wasn't something he did unless absolutely necessary.
"I always thought, with Hestia's personality, she would've been eager to show her child off. But she's kept them hidden all this time—even after doing so much."
"Well, if it were the old Hestia, yeah, she'd probably have bragged about it during one of her arguments with Loki. But it seems her child doesn't like being in the spotlight, so she held back."
Hermes's explanation genuinely surprised Dionysus.
"Huh... even Hestia's changed?"
"Yep, even Hestia—once called the 'virgin goddess' in Tenkai—has changed."
That label made Dionysus frown slightly.
"That title... wasn't it something Apollo came up with just to mock certain goddesses? It's not exactly appropriate to throw it around like that."
"I didn't think you'd say that. Honestly, I expected you to say something like, 'So even Hestia's bloomed, huh.'"
"...Can you not lump me in with Apollo?"
He respected women, thank you very much. Especially Hestia. He'd never liked making her the butt of any joke.
Back in Tenkai, she had helped him more times than he could count, and Dionysus truly believed she was one of the kindest, most approachable goddesses he'd ever met.
When it came to goddesses he respected, Dionysus didn't mess around with lowbrow humor.
"And next time, don't assume my thoughts line up with Apollo's. I've got more self-respect than that."
'You're the one who speaks most bluntly out of all of us,' Hermes grumbled silently, though it was clear Dionysus genuinely held Hestia in high regard.
He just didn't know what Hestia had done to earn that respect.
...
(100 Chapters Ahead)
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