"Hmm…"
Early in the morning, Hestia slowly woke up from a beautiful dream. As she slowly opened her eyes, she was thinking, 'Ah, my soft bed is the best.'
However, Hestia's expression clearly indicated that she probably wanted to stay in bed and not move at all.
The problem was that the other person in the bed couldn't stand it anymore.
"Hey! Do you know what time it is?"
Hephaestus glanced at Hestia with the corner of her eye slightly lifted.
This idiot had only recently become head of the Hestia Familia, and yet she had quickly returned to her lazy old habits.
Hephaestus couldn't help but wonder if collaborating with this person was a huge mistake.
"Hmm… don't be like that."
Hestia pouted, her cheeks puffed up as she buried her face deeper into the blanket, clearly showing no intention of getting out of bed.
In fact, she had plenty of excuses ready.
"Those few days I spent living outside made me realize just how hard life out there really is. The beds were hard as rocks, the blankets smelled awful, and the church basement reeked of mold."
It kind of sounded like a spoiled rich kid talking about their first time living like a regular person. Hephaestus could hear what Hestia was really trying to say, but she just didn't want to work hard.
That annoyed her so much that she acted right away.
She reached under the blanket and grabbed Hestia's cheek, pulling her up even though Hestia was whining.
"Owww!"
"You think you have the right to complain? Who do you think is responsible for that kind of situation? It's you, you lazy slacker! You just sit around my place doing nothing instead of going out to find some talented or hardworking people to join your familia!"
"You think every god has the luxury to lounge around like you? If Freya and Loki acted like you, they wouldn't be the one ruling the Orario!"
Hephaestus really didn't like how lazy Hestia was.
Moreover, Hestia started going around asking random adventurers to join her familia is crazy!
Honestly, if a really talented person hadn't shown up right after that, Hephaestus would have seriously considered kicking Hestia straight back up to the heavens.
"Mm…"
Hestia, whose cheek was still sore from being yanked, knew she was in the wrong and couldn't really argue.
Then she thought about her super cute Bell and suddenly felt really proud.
"If I hadn't been lazing around here, how would I have ever met Bell-kun? Basically, it was the right choice for me to be slacking off!"
Hearing that made a vein pop on Hephaestus's forehead. She looked like she wanted to crack Hestia's head to see if it was full of brains.
"You've got the nerve to say that out loud? Do you think you found him by chance? You're just a blind cat that got lucky and ran into a golden mouse walking right into your paws! If you had even half a brain, the Guild would've already helped you get some great people for your familia!"
In the city of Orario, it's super rare for a god who struggles to find followers. Usually, it's the adventurers who have a hard time finding a god willing to accept them.
Hephaestus was confident in saying that if this idiot Hestia had simply gone to the Guild and asked, they absolutely could have arranged a few rookie adventurers for her.
Sure, it might've been a tough start, but growing and learning with the familia is what made coming down to the human world fun for the gods in the first place!
However, Hestia messed it all up. She basically ruined the way most gods usually start, and somehow, she was even making it worse.
Even though meeting Bell turned out to be a total miracle, Hephaestus still thought it was just dumb luck.
To her, it was like Hestia had stepped in something gross and somehow found treasure by accident.
"Hmph hmph~"
Hephaestus snorted, clearly annoyed.
Hestia raised her head proudly, puffing out her chest with a smug grin.
"But I have Bell-kun! Isn't one Bell-kun way better than a whole bunch of random weirdos from who-knows-where?"
"You... you don't seriously think you'll never need to recruit any other familia members, do you?"
Hephaestus was genuinely starting to worry now.
Bell was a talented kid, but even the strongest adventurer couldn't do everything alone. Moreover, it sounded like Hestia did not intend to recruit anyone else.
"Of course not!"
Hestia replied without a hint of hesitation.
Now that she had Bell, Hestia didn't really feel like finding more people.
She believed that once Bell grew strong enough, the Hestia Familia might very well become a major force that could rival even the Freya or Loki Familia.
However, that was a matter for the future. Hestia had no intention of adding anyone else until Bell became fully strong.
"Bell-kun will definitely surpass Finn from Loki Familia and Ottar from Freya Familia, but that'll happen once he grows up more. Bell-kun told me himself that he doesn't trust a single adventurer in Orario, so I won't take in any other familia members unless they've earned Bell-kun's approval."
"You... sigh..."
Hephaestus wanted to argue with her, but when she saw the serious look in Hestia's eyes, she gave up.
There were lots of gods in Orario who really loved their familia members, and some even fell in love with them.
In fact, it happened a lot, but the problem was that most of those relationships didn't end well.
However, those gods who knew this often chose to act regardless. They didn't want a future that stayed the same forever.
They wanted something new, something exciting—something that felt like a real connection.
Even if they ended up getting hurt, they still believed it was worth it.
Clearly, Hestia seemed to be one of them as well.